The Magical World Exposed
by Teddylonglong
Summary: Was it really wise to leave little Harry unsupervised at the Dursleys? Dumbledore's action could have left the magical world with an unexpected problem. COMPLETELY AU! Main pairing: HG/HP
1. Chapter 1

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

Eight-year-old Harry Potter straightened himself and let out a sigh of relief after three hours of garden work in the blazing sunshine.

All of a sudden, a small yowl made him look to the new neighbours' garden. A small dog was standing right behind the fence, apparently watching him.

Harry smiled as he crossed the garden, feeling fairly safe to do as he wanted, as his relatives, who had taken him in out of the graciousness of their hearts like his uncle reminded him every now and then, had gone for a three-week holiday.

"Hi there," he greeted the dog that immediately began to waggle his tail.

"Hello," he suddenly heard a voice, and a boy of about his own age appeared in the bushes. "I'm David. We just moved in here yesterday."

"Hello David. I'm Harry," Harry replied, casting the boy a shy smile.

"Why don't you come over, so that we can play together?" David asked, eagerly. "My dog seems to like you."

 _'Nobody wants to play with a freak,'_ Harry thought, eyeing the other boy with anxiousness. However, David's smile was so genuine that Harry could not resist the temptation to agree, the idea _'Maybe I can get a friend, even if I'm a freak'_ at the front of his mind. He hesitantly left the garden around the garage, smiling as he saw David wait for him in front of the house, together with his dog.

"This is Trouble," he introduced the dog, causing Harry to stare at the boy in confusion, wondering if he was joking. However, David continued, "Trouble, this is Harry. Be nice."

Harry carefully began to pet the dog, who waggled his tail and eagerly licked his hands.

"Come," David invited him and led Harry through the garden that belonged to his parents' house into the house, where he shouted for his mother.

"Mum, look, Trouble and I've already found a friend," he told his mother, who smiled at Harry and introduced herself as Mrs. O'Brien.

Questioned where he was living, Harry hesitantly informed the kind woman that he was living with his relatives, the Dursleys, next door.

"Oh then I should go and introduce myself to them later on," Mrs. O'Brien said, still smiling.

Harry shook his head. "My relatives have gone on holidays for three weeks," he explained. "They won't be back before the end of the holidays."

"And you?" Mrs. O'Brien asked in apparent surprise.

"They never take me with them," Harry admitted in a small voice. Somehow, he felt very reassured by the woman's kindness, and added, "They hate me, because I'm a good for nothing freak."

"You're what?" Mrs. O'Brien blurted out in apparent shock. "Harry, you're not a freak. Come, let's sit here at the kitchen table and have some tea and strawberry cheesecake, and you'll tell me exactly why you think that you're a freak, which is pure nonsense."

 _'They'll soon enough realise that it's true and throw me out,'_ Harry thought and very hesitantly sat on the edge of the offered chair at the kitchen table. His eyes widened, when the friendly lady placed a huge piece of cake on the plate in front of him, eyeing the delicious looking sweet in disbelief.

"Harry, eat, it's great," David encouraged him, unobtrusively feeding Trouble a small piece of his cake.

"Is something wrong, Harry?" Mrs. O'Brien asked, kindly, giving him a sharp look.

"I'm not allowed to eat at the table with normal people," Harry admitted in a small voice, looking helplessly from David to his mother.

"Nonsense," the boy's mother replied, resolutely. "Here at our house you're allowed to do whatever David does," she promised, causing Harry to tuck in with gusto.

"It's absolutely delicious. Thank you so very much," he said in delight. "I've never eaten something so wonderful before."

David and his mother exchanged a glance, before the woman enquired, "Why is it that you think you're a freak?"

Harry fidgeted in his seat, before he replied in a barely audible voice, "Because I sometimes do freaky things, which I shouldn't."

"Like what for example?" Mrs. O'Brien asked, seeming to be not shocked at all at Harry's revelation.

"I turned my teachers hair green, or I made myself go up onto the school roof, when Dudley and his friends were chasing me," Harry admitted, causing David to smile.

"Mum, he's like Hermione," he blurted out. "She also did such things, but Dad said it was magic and that she probably is a witch."

"That's right, son," Mrs. O'Brien agreed, gently. "The girl who lived next door to us, before we moved here, did such things too. If she's a witch, maybe you're a wizard. Let's speak with my husband when he comes back. Anyway, you're not a freak, you're a very nice boy."

"Even Trouble thinks so," David added, chuckling. "He's a Jack Russel terrier by the way. I don't know if you've heard of them."

Only now did Harry realise that the small dog had put his front feet up onto his knees, apparently wanting him to feed him.

"May he have some cake?" Harry asked, smiling at the cute dog.

"He shouldn't," Mrs. O'Brien replied and handed Harry a small bag. "You may give him a few of these. They're dog treats," she explained, patiently.

Harry could not help chuckling, when Trouble eagerly devoured his treats with apparent gusto, gently licking his hand when he was finished.

"Excuse me, Madame," Harry spoke up, thoughtfully. "My relatives have told me that there's no such thing as magic."

"There is," Mrs. O'Brien informed him in a firm voice. "The freaky things you were talking about are definitely magic."

"Sometimes, I can also wish for some things," Harry admitted. "It doesn't always work though."

"Can you show me something?" David asked, eagerly. "Please, Harry."

Harry cast the other boy a shocked look, however, seeing his mother nod, encouragingly, concentrated on making his arm tingly like he had done many times before since he realised that he could willingly do strange things. He stared at the cake that was standing in the middle of the table, and very slowly, a small piece of cake moved in the direction of David's plate, where it landed with a small thud.

"Wow, this is totally amazing, thank you," David blurted out, before he happily began to attack the piece of cake on his plate.

"You must be a very powerful wizard, Harry," Mrs. O'Brien said, thoughtfully. "Let's speak with my husband later on. He's a professor and teaches Ethnology at a university in London. He'll be very interested to see what you can do and maybe will be able to give you some advice."

"I'd like that," Harry replied, happily, still unable to believe how lucky he was to have found people who did not despise him because of his freakishness.

HP

Harry and David spent the afternoon playing in David's room, which was still full with boxes and a complete mess, because David had begun unpacking this and that, and above all, Trouble was running all over the room, just making even more mess. However, the two boys enjoyed themselves greatly, and when Mrs. O'Brien came to call the boys for dinner, Harry admitted readily that he never had so much fun before.

"I'm glad to hear that, Harry," Mrs. O'Brien replied and introduced the boy to her husband, who greeted Harry in the same friendly way as his wife had been speaking to him since he arrived.

HP

To Harry's disbelief, he was even allowed to eat dinner together with the nice family, and, like his wife, Professor O'Brien reassured the boy that he was not a freak but had to be a wizard.

"I'll try to find out something about witches and wizards in our time," the professor finally promised. "There'll surely be more people who can do magic. It's just not really known."

After dinner, David's mother asked, "Harry, if your relatives are gone for three weeks, why don't you stay with us? Or is there anyone who checks on you and would miss you?"

"No," Harry admitted, hesitantly, before he explained, "it's just that I need to do my chores, otherwise, my uncle will be very angry."

"Don't worry about that, Harry," Mrs. O'Brien replied, suddenly seeming very upset. "We'll speak with your relatives, when they come back."

HP

During the following three weeks, Harry remained at the O'Briens' residence. He shared the room with David, and the two boys got along very well, thoroughly enjoying the other's company. Harry did not have to do chores, except from a very few times, when he and David had to help Mrs. O'Brien with something. The children spent most of the day playing in their room or in the garden. Once a day, they went for a long walk with Trouble, who was so very cute that Harry loved him dearly. During the weekends, Mr. O'Brien was at home, and the family often went to interesting places in London or to the seaside. By the end of the summer holidays, Harry felt more at home at the O'Briens' than he had ever felt at home at his relatives' place.

Mrs. O'Brien even bought clothes for him, and Harry very much enjoyed having new clothes that fit him for the first time in his life.

HP

One day, both children drew pictures - to Harry's great pleasure. He carefully drew a small boy who was standing in front of a pretty woman holding a bunch of flowers in his hand, before he critically eyed his picture, wondering if Mrs. O'Brien would recognise herself. He stared at his work, and all of a sudden, the bunch of flowers moved towards the woman until it ended up in her hands, causing the woman to smile at the boy.

"Wow, Harry, that's cool," David spoke up in apparent amazement. "Can you make my horse move around?"

Harry stared at the horse in a large garden, which David had just finished drawing, and an instant later, the horse began to move around the garden.

"Thank you," David blurted out, as he eyed his painting in obvious delight. "Let's show our paintings to Mum."

To Harry's amazement, Mrs. O'Brien profusely thanked them both for their paintings and put them up onto the wall in the living room. _'She put my picture on the wall,'_ Harry thought in disbelief. _'Aunt Petunia always threw my paintings into the bin.'_

HP

"Today, my relatives are going to come back," he told David on the last day of the holidays, a sad expression clouding his face that had been always happy during the last three weeks.

"I wished you could just stay here," David replied, looking equally sad. "Let's ask Mum and Dad. Maybe they can do something about it."

"We'll speak with them and see what we can do," the professor promised.

His wife pulled Harry in a light hug, glad to see that he did not flinch back as badly anymore as during his first days at the O'Briens'.

HP

Never before had Harry felt any tension at the O'Briens' residence, however, on this Sunday afternoon, everyone was waiting for the Dursleys to come back from their holidays with a combination of impatience, expectation, concern and fear.

Finally, they saw Vernon Dursleys' car arrive and observed Harry's relatives carry their luggage into the house.

"Let's go all together," Mr. O'Brien decided, before he told Trouble to stay alone for a few minutes.

Harry was almost panicking when he followed the O'Briens over to his relatives' house together with David. He inwardly groaned, when Dudley opened the door and then shouted inside, "Mum, Dad, some strangers are here together with the freak."

 _tbc..._


	2. Chapter 2

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

"Leave it to me," Professor O'Brien whispered to his wife, making Harry feel strangely reassured. "Good evening," he continued, when Petunia appeared in the doorframe. "We're your new neighbours and just want to speak with you for a moment if that's possible."

"Sure," Petunia replied, apparently wise enough to not say anything to Harry in front of the new neighbours. Seemingly grudgingly, she led the O'Briens into the living room, and only when Harry tried to follow them, hissed in a small voice, "Make dinner, freak."

"Excuse me, Mrs. Dursley, but we'd like your nephew to be present for our small conversation," the professor spoke up in a firm voice, gently pulling Harry with him and, once they were seated in the living room, continued, "Mrs. Dursley, we wanted to enquire about your nephew."

"Oh no, my nephew is very strange. I'm very sorry if he bothered you in any way," Petunia hurried to reply in what Harry recognised as a fake, friendly voice.

"On the contrary," Mrs. O'Brien threw in. "He's a very nice and gentle boy, and we don't mind that he is a wizard. In fact, Harry has been living with us during the last three weeks, and we'd like to have him as a member of our family."

"Who wants to have a freak?" Dudley roared from the sofa, where he was watching TV with his father.

"Harry's not a freak," David replied firmly, causing Harry to cast him a genuine smile.

 _'They're standing up for me,'_ he thought, feeling very much reassured and happy.

"Why would my nephew want to live with you?" Petunia asked, crisply.

"Maybe because we don't call him names and treat him much better than you must have done," Mr. O'Brien replied in a firm voice, glaring at the woman.

"Well Petunia, let's get rid of him while we can," Vernon roared, without standing up from his spot on the sofa.

"That's true," Petunia agreed.

"Very well then, we'll see to the formalities," Mrs. O'Brien spoke up, before she asked, "Mrs. Dursley, do you perhaps know anything about magical people in this time? Is there anyone whom we could contact to get some help or advice for the boy?"

"My sister was a witch," Petunia admitted, seemingly grudgingly. "She went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where she met the boy's father, and a year after he was born, they managed to let themselves being murdered leaving us with that nuisance of a freak."

"There's a school for magic?" the professor blurted out with apparent interest. "How can we contact anyone?"

"The headmaster of the school placed Harry here," Petunia said, thoughtfully. "So he won't be of any help. Do you know the Inkpot in London? The bookshop?"

"Yes, we know that," Mrs. O'Brien confirmed, looking at Petunia with interest, while Harry's thoughts went haywire.

"You told me they died in a car crash," he threw in, giving his aunt a reproachful look.

However, his aunt completely ignored his outburst and explained, "If you leave the Inkpot to the right and turn right again, on the left hand side is the entrance to Diagon Alley, the magical shopping street. We can't see the entrance though, only freaks can."

The O'Briens profusely thanked Petunia for the information and left with Harry in tow, who quickly fetched his baby blanket from his cupboard, admitting that he did not have any other belongings.

HP

"Now you belong to us, Harry," Mrs. O'Brien said, seemingly contented, as soon as they were back at home, pulling the boy into a light hug.

"Thank you so much," Harry replied, smiling, enthusiastically.

"We only have to make it official," Mr. O'Brien added.

"I'll see to it tomorrow morning, right after taking the boys to school," his wife promised.

"Mum, Dad, can Harry call you Mum and Dad now?" David threw in, grinning in apparent expectation.

Harry could not help blushing and inwardly sighed in relief, when Mr. O'Brien replied in a gentle voice. "Harry, If you feel comfortable with it, you may call us Mum and Dad. Otherwise, you can call us Annette and Cillian."

"Thank you, sir," Harry replied, gratefully, before he asked, shyly, "Is David going to be in my class?"

Annette sighed. "Considering that we're living next to the Dursleys, probably yes," she said. "However, I'm going to speak with the teachers and ask them to put both of you into a different class from the Dursley boy. I can't promise anything though," she added, apparently having noticed Harry's delighted expression.

"Harry, since you're now living here on a permanent basis," Cillian addressed the boy, "you and David have to decide if you want to continue sharing your room or if you wish to have your own rooms." He gave the children a questioning look.

Harry looked up in shock. _'I'd like to remain together,'_ he thought, glancing at David, who nodded encouragingly. "Together please," he said in a small voice, "provided that it's all right with David."

"Of course, Harry. We're going to have much fun," his new brother promised, pulling him away into their room.

HP

To Harry's chagrin, he and David were indeed in the same class as Dudley. The headmistress said there was nothing that they could do about it, because the other classes were already completely full. Nevertheless, Harry was happy to have David with him, and his new brother remained firmly at his side.

 _'Dudley and his friends didn't dare ridicule me today,'_ Harry thought, happily, when he walked home together with David.

When they came home, Annette smiled, seemingly happy. "We're now officially your guardians," she told Harry, causing both boys to cheer.

"Mum, we need to introduce Harry to Hermione," David spoke up. "She'll be very happy if she gets to know him."

"Yes, I've already thought about that," his mother replied, "and I've phoned her mother. We're going to meet with the Grangers on Saturday morning to go to the magical shopping street together."

 _'I wonder what Hermione is like,'_ Harry thought in anticipation when he went to bed on Friday evening. _'I've never met any magical people before.'_

On Saturday morning, both boys were much too excited to sleep, and from five o'clock in the morning onwards, they began to ask if they were allowed to take Trouble with them, what they should wear to go to the magical shopping street, and when they were finally going to leave.

"Trouble plus double trouble," Cillian whispered to his wife, before he turned around to sleep some more.

"Men," Annette whispered back, rolling her eyes, as she got up and made her way into the kitchen in order to distract the excited boys for a few hours.

HP

Finally, it was nine-o'clock, and the O'Briens took the bus to London. Harry was very excited. Never before had he been able to travel by bus. Whenever Petunia took Dudley to London, he had been left at home. He knew, however, that while Uncle Vernon never ever travelled in any other way than in his large car, Cillian used to go to work by bus, and the O'Briens had told him that one reason why they had moved to Little Whinging was that there was a direct bus connection to the university.

 _'This is too cool,'_ he thought, happily looking out of the window, feeling grateful towards David, who had offered the seat next to the window to him. Trouble was spread out on their laps and was equally staring out of the window, slightly waggling his tail with apparent pleasure.

HP

When they reached the Inkpot, of which Harry had already heard a lot, as it was the O'Briens' favourite bookshop, the Grangers were already waiting for them in front of the entrance.

Harry immediately liked them. The parents were of about the same age as the O'Briens or his relatives, and the girl had bushy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes that smiled at him.

"Hello Harry, I'm Hermione," the girl blurted out at his sight. "Is it true that you can do strange things too?"

Harry nodded, shyly, before he said in a small voice, "Hello Hermione. I'm happy to meet you."

Cillian quickly relayed to the Grangers what Harry's aunt had told them about the entrance to the magical shopping area. He led the small group around the corner as instructed, before he turned to Harry and Hermione.

"Can you see a door or some kind of entrance here on the left side?" he asked the children.

"Over there," Harry and Hermione replied, simultaneously.

"Very good," Cillian said, approvingly, before he asked Harry to open the door.

HP

Feeling unsure, however, instinctively knowing that the non-magical adults had to feel even more uncertain, Harry gratefully accepted Hermione's hand that slid itself into his own, left hand, and carefully walked ahead together with the girl. In surprise, he noticed that they did not find them in a shopping street but in some kind of restaurant or pub.

To his relief, Cillian took over and addressed the barkeeper. "Excuse me, sir, would it be possible to speak with you in private for a moment?" he asked in a firm voice.

The barkeeper let his eyes wander over the small group, and Harry had the impression as if the man's eyes lingered on him a little longer, almost as if he knew him. However, the man did not address him but merely led the group into a small side room, where he motioned them to take seats.

Cillian explained the reason for their visit, and the man, who introduced himself as Tom, remained pensive for a moment, before he replied, slowly.

"I'm afraid that I'm not the right person to help you. Therefore, I suggest that you head to Gringotts, the wizarding bank, and speak with the goblins. They'll tell you everything that you should know about the magical world, plus they're known for their secrecy."

"Excuse me, sir," Mr. Granger spoke up. "Why do we need secrecy?"

Tom turned to Harry. "You're Harry Potter, aren't you?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied in a small voice, wondering, _'Why does he know my name?'_

Tom sighed. "The fact that Harry Potter is supposed to live with his Muggle relatives is well known all over the magical world, and the headmaster of Hogwarts, who is one of the most influential wizards at this time, won't like it that you took him away from there. Therefore, you will want some privacy," he explained, only to add, "This is also the reason why I believe that the goblins are much better able to assist you than any human wizard or witch, who would get in trouble with Professor Dumbledore."

"Excuse me, sir, Muggles?" David enquired, looking curiously at the wizard in front of them.

"Non-magical people," Tom replied, smiling. "Lina," he suddenly shouted, and the strangest creature that Harry had ever seen suddenly stood in front of the group.

"This is Lina, my house-elf," Tom introduced the creature that smiled and looked very nice in Harry's opinion.

"Master Tom, what can Lina does for you and yous guests?" Lina enquired, bowing deeply.

"Please take these two families to Gringotts and see to it that they're able to speak with one of the nicer goblins," Tom instructed her, only to add as an afterthought, "Try to get Buckbean to speak with them."

"Yes, Master Tom," Lina replied, obediently, and motioned the Grangers and O'Briens to follow her. "We goes out into Diagon Alley, the magical shopping centre," she informed the two families.

HP

After a few minutes' walk through the shopping street, during which their heads went from one side to the other and back in order to take in all the interesting looking show windows, they reached Gringotts. _'I love it,'_ Harry thought, as he followed the others into the bank, only to stare at the many strange creatures in shock. Most of the goblins looked outright intimidating, and he felt Hermione's grip on his hand intensify. _'That's why Tom emphasized that his elf should take us to a nice goblin,'_ he thought in understanding.

He listened with a combination of interest and anxiousness, when Lina spoke to one of the goblins and told him that Tom had suggested for the group to speak with Buckbean. _'I hope he's really nice and tells us how we can learn to do magic that always works,'_ Harry thought in anticipation, when one goblin suddenly approached the group and motioned them to follow him.

 _tbc..._


	3. Chapter 3

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

The goblin quietly listened to Cillian's explanation, before he replied, "Please excuse me for a moment to fetch the file with Mr. Potter's data."

"I hope this isn't a trap," Harry heard Cillian whisper to Annette, however, he felt immediately reassured when the goblin reappeared carrying a thick folder.

"First of all," Buckbean began to speak, skimming a parchment in the folder, "I wish to inform you about Mr. Potter's belongings as well as his guardians. When his parents were murdered, Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, placed him with his relatives, although there were many people in the magical would who would have loved to take him in. Professor Dumbledore is also Harry Potter's guardian in the magical world."

"Excuse me, sir, is it possible to change this?" Cillian queried. "The professor does not seem to have Harry's best interests in mind if he placed him with an abusive family."

Buckbean nodded. "I can change it, however, for the guardianship in the magical world, he needs a magical guardian. Do you know anyone?"

"No," Annette spoke up. "Would it perhaps be possible for you or any of your colleagues to become his guardian?"

The goblin remained pensive for a moment, before he agreed. "Yes, I can become Mr. Potter's and also Ms. Granger's guardian if that's what you want, and I can assure you that the information about the change of guardian will not leak out into the human magical world. Merely the data will be changed accordingly."

"That's good," Cillian replied and thanked the goblin. "If the headmaster became aware of the matter, we might get into trouble."

"Exactly," Buckbean confirmed, smiling, before he informed Harry about the vaults and houses that his parents had left him.

HP

After two hours of discussion between the two families and Buckbean, the goblin connected the fireplaces of both families to the Floo network and promised to introduce them to Potter Manor at another time.

"This is the only one vault, which Harry is able to access at any time, even without his magical guardian," Buckbean explained, as they rode one of the Gringotts carriages together. "The other vaults will only be accessible for him from the age of seventeen onwards."

Harry stared with a combination of disbelief and amazement at the huge pile of gold in his vault. Buckbean handed him a small bag, smiling when Harry shyly asked for two more bags, which he equally filled with some of the three different types of coins and handed them to Hermione and David.

"You can contact me through the Floo network at any time," Buckbean promised, when the O'Briens and the Grangers took their leave to explore some of the interesting looking shops on both sides of the shopping street.

HP

"The Floo is too cool," David blurted out when they were back on the street. "Now Hermione can easily visit us at any time."

"That's true," the girl agreed immediately, smiling broadly at her friends, before a sudden idea crossed her mind. "Maybe we could even go to school together. Then I wouldn't be the only freak," she said in clear excitement, looking from her parents to the O'Briens.

"That's a brilliant idea," David immediately agreed, causing Harry to nod with enthusiasm. _'It would be great to have another freak in our class,'_ he thought, smiling at the idea.

Harry was brought back from his musings, when Mr. Granger suggested to head to the bookshop and buy some books about the magical world.

"Yes, that's a good idea," Cillian immediately agreed. "Once we know some more about the magical world, we can come back and explore other parts of the shopping area."

Flourish & Blotts was a treasure trove for the children and their parents, and after a long time spent between various shelves, the three children decided to buy a complete set of the Hogwarts first year books along with _'Hogwarts: A History'_ and some magical children's books from an interesting looking series. Like Buckbean had advised him earlier, Harry told the wizard at the registry to just take the money from the Potter vault, ignoring the adults' protests.

HP

Mrs. Granger promised to go to Harry's and David's school together with Annette and speak with the headmistress about Hermione, and from the following Tuesday morning onwards, Hermione attended school together with the two boys. Every morning, she took the Floo to the O'Briens, and the three children walked to school together. When they were back in the afternoons, they worked on their homework together, before they spent the rest of the afternoon playing with Trouble and speaking about what they had read in the magical books. Only on time for dinner, Hermione stepped into the fireplace to return home.

Dudley still tried to torment his cousin, however, he realised soon that Harry did not only have his new brother at his side, but also the new girl, who turned to be out a freak just like Harry.

Harry was happier than he had ever been before. Attending school together with his brother and their friend was much fun, and he loved reading the books that they had bought at Diagon Alley.

"If you continue to read so much, you'll have finished your first year books soon," Annette said one day, chuckling, after overhearing the three children discuss a war between the wizards and the goblins during the medieval age for a while.

 _'I'm glad that David is as interested in everything as Hermione and I,'_ Harry thought, happily. _'One would think that it was frustrating for him to not be able to do magic like Hermione and me.'_

"Too bad that I can't do magic," David suddenly spoke up. "Is there any way to learn it? I'd love to attend Hogwarts together with the two of you."

"I'm afraid not," Annette replied in a soothing voice, calmingly ruffling her son's hair.

"I'd like to go and buy a wand," Hermione said, pensively. "Then we could try out some of the spells and charms described in the books."

"Oh yes, I'd love that," Harry agreed immediately.

"Maybe we can go to Diagon Alley on one of the next Saturdays," Annette replied and promised to ask Cillian.

However, before the three children could convince the adults to head to the magical shopping centre again, their parents were called to the primary school for a meeting with their teacher.

 _'Oh no, I just hope they won't kick Hermione and me out because of being freaks,'_ Harry thought, worriedly, when the three children slowly walked to the school behind the adults.

HP

To Harry's and Hermione's immense relief, the conversation had nothing to do with the fact that they were magical. The teacher informed the surprised parents that the three of them were top of their class in all subjects and suggested for them to progress into the next class right away.

"I'm sure that they'll well be able to keep up in a higher class, and it would also give them the opportunity to get away from Dudley Dursley, who still tries to annoy them as well as he can," the teacher explained.

"Oh yes please," Harry, Hermione and David blurted out, simultaneously, grinning enthusiastically at each other.

To Harry's great pleasure, the parents agreed with the teacher to accept the offer, so that he, David and Hermione were able to change classes right after the Christmas holidays. _'That's too cool. Classes are surely going to be fun without Dudley being in our class,'_ Harry thought, feeling very happy.

HP

A few days later, the O'Briens took the children to Diagon Alley, glad that it was only a short step through the fireplace away.

While the children bought all of the second year's books as well as some children's stories from the series _'The Five Magical Friends'_ , of which they had bought books before, their parents chose some more introductions to the magical world.

After looking into some other shops like the Quidditch shop, they hesitantly visited the wand maker and asked for wands for Hermione and Harry.

"Hermione first," Harry offered, knowing that the girl was as eager as himself to finally get a wand.

The two boys observed with interest how Hermione tried out multiple children's wands, causing items to fly through the room or crash to the ground.

"No no," the wand maker finally said, pensively, and asked, "How old are you?"

"I'm nine," Hermione replied, eagerly.

The old wizard turned to Annette and Cillian and explained, "Her magic is already too strong for a children's wand. I recommend buying a normal wand for her, which children usually receive at the age of eleven."

The O'Briens agreed, and it did not take long, before Hermione found a wand that worked well for her.

To Harry's surprise, his own magic was also too strong for a children's wand. Nevertheless, it took a while for him to find the wand that matched, and after the wand maker explained that his wand was the twin of the wizard who had killed his parents, Harry felt extremely relieved when they closed the door to the shop behind them. _'That was gross,'_ he thought, carefully fingering the wand that was tucked into his jeans pocket.

"I'd like to buy some Christmas presents for my parents," Hermione spoke up. "Would that be all right?"

Everyone agreed, and Harry and David decided to look for something for Annette and Cillian as well. Together, they convinced the O'Briens to head to the bookshop to give the children some time alone.

"Let's go to the sweets shop," David suggested. "Maybe they have some interesting items that we can buy for them."

"Did you know that my parents are dentists?" Hermione replied, chuckling, however, eagerly inspected the sweets shop together with the boys.

Finally, they bought Bertie Botts Beans for Annette and Cillian as well as a package of chocolate frogs, strangled strawberry cats, liquorice phoenixes and several other strange looking items for themselves, deciding that it would be better to give the Grangers the same books that the O'Briens had bought earlier instead of sweets.

When they returned to Flourish & Blotts to meet Annette and Cillian, Harry unobtrusively bought another copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ , knowing just how much Hermione loved that book. _'If I want to look up something, I'll never have a chance if Hermione doesn't have her own copy,'_ he thought, inwardly grinning.

HP

Christmas was more pleasant than Harry could have imagined it in his wildest dreams. Instead of having to cook all the meals only to be thrown into his cupboard over the holidays like during the previous years, he did not have to cook but was allowed helping to decorate the Christmas tree. He used the occasion to try out a few spells, which he had found in the school books, and transfigured tissues into colourful baubles - much to his foster parents' and his brother's pleasure.

For the first time after his parents died, Harry even received Christmas presents. Unbeknownst to the children, Annette and Cillian had asked the Grangers to buy some magical toys for their sons, when they visited Diagon Alley together with Hermione a few weeks ago. Fortunately, the Grangers had been careful to only buy games that did not afford magic to play them, so that David could play everything together with Harry.

"This was the best Christmas ever," Harry said, contentedly. "Thank you so much for everything."

"You're very welcome, son," Cillian replied, smiling. "We're also very happy to have you here."

HP

From the beginning of January onwards, Harry, Hermione and David went to their new class, and all three children liked it immediately. Their classmates were much nicer than in their old class, where everyone had been frightened to stand up against Dudley and his gang, and since all three of them loved to study, they thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of attending more difficult classes.

 _'Dudley must be so jealous,'_ Harry thought one day, when Annette told him that Petunia had asked if it was true that they were in a different class now. However, apparently, it was not only Dudley who could not bear his cousin being in an advanced class.

HP

One day, when the three friends were on their way home from school and Trouble just emerged from the O'Briens' garden to accompany what he thought of his big brothers home, a tragedy occurred, which was going to change their lives to a great extent.

 _tbc..._


	4. Chapter 4

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

"Harry, David!" Hermione suddenly shouted and jumped aside into a front garden right on time, before Vernon Dursley's car dashed over the footpath, hitting the two boys, who had not seen the car approach on a path where no car was supposed to be.

Not bothering that Trouble turned to the fat man to avenge his brothers instead of following her, Hermione ran into her best friends' home to get help.

HP

Harry heard Hermione shout in what sounded like full panic mode, however, before he even realised what was happening, his body erupted in pain, and a mere instant later, blissful unconsciousness engulfed him.

When his mind turned back to awareness, he realised immediately that his chest hurt. He slowly opened his eyes, noticing in surprise that he found himself in a bed in a small room. Hermione was sitting on the edge of his bed.

"What happened?" he asked, instinctively reaching for the girl's hand. "Where are we?"

"Oh Harry," Hermione blurted out, turning a tear-stricken face to him. "Thank God at least you're awake. It's so horrible."

"What happened, and where's David?" Harry repeated, urgently. _'I've never seen Hermione cry, and I don't even know how I came here,'_ he thought.

"You're in hospital, Harry. Your uncle tried to kill you," Hermione sobbed. "Wait, I'll go and fetch Annette. She's with David."

"Okay," Harry agreed, although his mind screamed, _'No, don't go. Don't leave me alone.'_

"No, wait. Please don't go yet," he uttered, reaching for her arm.

Hermione turned around in apparent surprise.

"When did it happen?" Harry asked, trying to lean over to wipe a tear from the girl's face, only to realise that he was connected to multiple machines and could not move enough.

"You've been here for almost a week," Hermione replied, sighing.

"Oh no, did you get along at school?" Harry enquired, giving his best friend a worried look. "Dudley didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"I didn't meet him," Hermione said in a soft voice. "And his father... Oh well, I must go and fetch Annette. She needs to alert the doctors that you're awake," she interrupted herself, giving Harry a weak smile, before she left the room.

HP

A short while later, Annette entered the room, equally tear-stricken. She pulled Harry into a bear's hug. "Thank God you're awake, Harry. You were both in critical conditions due to your accident. Your lungs are damaged to a certain extent, but you'll be able to live with it."

"Mum," Harry asked, urgently, "how is David? Where is he? Can I see him?"

Annette proceeded to sit on the edge of his bed, gently caressing his flushed cheeks. "David is in a critical condition," she then admitted. "He needs a blood transfusion, but neither Cillian's nor my blood is compatible. We..."

"What about mine? Or Hermione's?" Harry interrupted her, horrified at the news.

"Hermione's isn't either, nor that of her parents," Annette informed him. "Would you be willing to donate blood if yours was all right?"

"Of course," Harry replied in determination. "How can we check if it's possible?"

Annette rose from the edge of his bed. "Let me ask the doctors. I must tell them that you're awake anyway. I don't think that you'll be able to donate blood anytime soon," she added, placing a kiss on Harry's forehead, before she left the room.

 _'Of course I'm able,'_ Harry thought in determination. _'David is my brother, and I wouldn't want anything happen to him. Above all, Hermione said that Uncle Vernon tried to kill us, so it would be my fault if he didn't make it. If not for me, why would he have tried to kill David?'_ With that horrifying thought in mind, he asked about the blood transfusion, as soon as a small group of doctors and nurses entered the room, seemingly pleased that he had woken up.

HP

After a lot of fussing by the nurses and doctors, it became clear that Harry's blood was compatible with that of his foster brother, and, even if the doctors advised him to wait for at least a week, Harry insisted to pull through with the blood transfer right away, putting up a huge fight with the doctors as well as his foster parents, who shared the doctors' opinion.

Fortunately, everything went well, and when Harry woke up the next time, Annette was sitting on the edge of his bed telling him that he had been able to save David's life. "Later today, they will move him here into your room," she added in a soft voice.

Harry merely leaned into his mother's embrace, smiling happily.

HP

A week later, both boys were released from the hospital with the instruction to take it easy. Harry was told that he could not participate in any kind of sport, as one of his lungs was too badly damaged to provide him with enough air for such activities. He even had to be careful that he was able to breathe properly when walking up or downstairs. David's condition was not much better, as the near-death experience had weakened his body greatly.

 _'The main thing is that we're both alive,'_ Harry thought, when they were back at home. Only then did the O'Briens tell the children that Vernon Dursley had been badly injured by Trouble, however, had had a trial during the previous week, which Hermione had attended as main witness together with Cillian, and that he had been sentenced to a twenty-year stay in prison for attempted murder in three cases.

 _'Thank Merlin,'_ Harry thought, feeling incredibly relieved to know that his uncle would not be able to harm them again.

HP

It was several months later, while Harry and David were still trying to adjust to the changes that the accident had caused their bodies, that another side effect of the tragedy on David came to light.

"Trouble! No!" David suddenly shouted, and in front of his family's eyes, a chocolate frog was hovering out of Trouble's paw right into David's hand.

"David!" Harry and Annette shouted, simultaneously.

"What?" David asked with a combination of impatience and surprise. "He mustn't eat chocolate," he explained, matter-of-factly.

"Well, yes, but you did magic," Harry informed him, smirking, causing David to gape at him.

"Maybe your blood caused David to develop magic abilities," Annette spoke up, staring at the boys in apparent disbelief. "I didn't know that it was possible, but it's obvious," she added, smiling.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry," Harry blurted out in shock.

"Why Harry? That's the best news ever," David replied, grinning broadly. "May I borrow your wand to try if I can do some spells too?"

Harry readily handed over his wand, and David managed to cast the Lumos charm without problems.

"Congratulations David, you must be a wizard now," Harry said, feeling extremely happy at the idea.

David seemed equally pleased and spent the rest of the day trying out all spells from the first year Hogwarts books using Harry's wand - with great success.

HP

At the next opportunity, the O'Briens took the three children to Diagon Alley again. After a conversation with Buckbean, who confirmed that the blood transfusion was most likely the cause for David's sudden display of magic and readily became the boy's magical guardian, they headed to the wand maker.

When David explained that he had been using Harry's wand that worked well for him, the wand maker did not insist on selling a children's wand but helped the boy decide on a proper wand, even if his magic seemed to be not as strong as his brother's.

"It's the wand that chooses the wizard, not the other way round," he told the children, who observed David try out several wands with interest.

HP

When the O'Briens returned home, another large pile of shrunken books in their pockets, Cillian spoke up, pensively. "I have an idea. In fact, I've already thought about it ever since Harry came to live with us, but I think I'm going to pull through with it."

"What is it?" the three children asked, simultaneously, causing Annette to roll her eyes in apparent annoyance.

"You're spending too much time together, the three of you," she said, chuckling, as she playfully ruffled each of the children's hair.

"As you know," Cillian slowly began to explain his idea to his family, including Hermione, who as the boys' inseparable friend was already part of it, "I'm a professor for Ethnology." Seeing everyone hang on his lips, he continued, "Ethnology deals with various peoples, different cultures and customs as well as ethnologic groups. In fact, I believe that wizards and witches are a group worth mentioning within my subject, and I'm planning to set up one class about the magical world within Britain nowadays."

"Oh, that's an amazing idea," Hermione was the first to reply, nodding eagerly.

"Before setting up anything though," Cillian continued to explain, "I wish to speak with the British Prime Minister in order to receive a written statement that the British government will accept magical people in our time and not tolerate any prosecution like it was custom during the middle ages. In fact, I have an appointment with the Prime Minister next Thursday. If that goes well, I'm planning to set up the course from the following semester onwards."

HP

A few weeks later, Cillian proudly showed them the certificate, which stated that no wizard or which would be prosecuted because of their abilities or the use of their special abilities within Britain, provided that they did not use magic to harm non magical people. During the following weeks, Cillian as well as the children, who followed his newest project with great interest, read all the general books about magic that they could lay their hands on. From October onwards, Cillian taught his new class twice a week and was surprised just how many of his students showed interest in the topic.

It was two weeks before Christmas that Cillian asked the children if they were interested and willing to perform a small display of magic in front of his students. "Next week Thursday afternoon if possible," he added.

"Of course," Hermione replied, immediately, eagerly grinning at the boys. "Can we perhaps go to Flourish & Blotts and look for a book with funny spells or charms, which we could practise to show them to the students?"

The O'Briens exchanged a glance, causing Hermione to beg, "I'm already ten and the boys nine, so we're really able to go there by ourselves for once."

David and Harry nodded their agreement, however, Annette insisted to accompany the children. "We can still go tomorrow right after school," she promised.

HP

During the next few days, Hermione, David and Harry spent much time practising various spells from their new book _'Charms for Fun - from Beginner to Expert'_.

"I love this," Harry said, chuckling, after practising a juggling spell for an hour.

"And you're really good at it," his brother added, grinning.

"Harry's magic is stronger than ours I think," Hermione said, thoughtfully. "I can't juggle with more than three balls, and I can't imagine how to use five balls for more than two minutes like Harry."

"I wished I could do as much with three," David replied, sighing.

"Look," Harry threw in, "it doesn't matter who can do what. The main point is that we can show them something interesting together, and I hope that they're going to have fun."

"We too," Hermione added, grinning. "I can't wait for Thursday afternoon."

"Me too," David and Harry agreed, simultaneously.

However, on Tuesday evening at dinner, Cillian suddenly spoke up wearing a serious expression. "I don't know if it's wise to have Harry attend the display on Thursday."

"Why not?" David and Harry asked with a combination of shock and disappointment.

Cillian let out a long sigh, before he explained, "As you know, Harry is famous in the magical world for what he did as a baby." Ignoring David's snort, he continued, "Today, the British Prime Minister, who has been taking great interest in my project from the beginning, spoke with me and told me that the BBC would contact me about filming the presentation on Thursday, and shortly later, someone from the BBC phoned me about the matter. I couldn't refuse, because it was the Prime Minister himself who asked me for the permission. However, I don't want to endanger Harry."

 _tbc..._


	5. Chapter 5

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

"Perhaps it would be wise," Annette threw in, "if we adopted Harry, about which we intended to speak with him soon anyway, and changed his surname to ours."

"Yes, do that," David answered to the unasked question, giving his brother an eager look. "You want that too, Harry, don't you?"

"I'd love that," Harry admitted in a small voice, smiling from his brother to his parents.

"Are you sure, dear?" Annette asked, gently, knowing that Harry always called her Mum when he was sick, which happened quite often ever since his tragic accident ten months ago.

"Yes please, if you don't mind," Harry replied, smiling at the woman, who had been like a mother to him since he had first met her.

"Very well," Cillian said, seemingly contented. "If you're our son by law, no one will be able to take you away from us, even if they somehow found out about your real identity."

The adults decided to speak with Buckbean about the matter on the following day in order to get Harry's name changed in the magical world as well.

 _'The Dursleys were wrong, when they told me that no one would want me if they hadn't taken me in. The O'Briens even want to adopt me and officially become my parents,'_ Harry thought, drifting off to sleep with a huge smile playing on his face that made his soon-to-be mother smile as well, when she came to tuck the children in for the night.

HP

As usual, Buckbean patiently listened to Annette's explanation, before he replied, "I believe that for the boy's safety it would be for the best if you adopted Harry. However, if he doesn't mind, you should also change his birthday, as every wizard or witch in this country knows the birthday of Harry Potter."

"We could use my birthday for Harry, so that we'd be twins," David spoke up, excitedly.

Seeing Harry nod with enthusiasm, Annette agreed, and Buckbean offered to make all chances from his side, so that the O'Briens would not even have to deal with the Muggle authorities. "The registrations in the magical world automatically overwrite those in the Muggle world," he explained, pleasantly.

"We greatly appreciate your kind offer," Annette replied, smiling, knowing by now that they could fully rely on the kind goblin.

Buckbean frowned, however, as he tried to place a charm on Harry's registration data in order to change his name.

"I'm sorry," he spoke up, shaking his head in annoyance. "It won't let me get rid of the Potter name. I can only offer to add Potter to his given names, so that he'd be Harry James Potter O'Brien."

Glancing at Harry, Annette suggested, "I don't know Harry's opinion, but perhaps we could then change his second name to Cillian in order to interrupt the sequence of Harry James Potter."

"I believe that this is a good idea," Buckbean acknowledged, giving Harry a questioning look.

"Yes please, sir," Harry hurried to assure Buckbean, smiling at the kind goblin.

By the time, the O'Briens left Gringotts late in the afternoon, Harry O'Brien's new birthday was the 16th of June together with his adoptive brother.

"Now we're twins," David chuckled, grinning at Harry, who rolled his eyes in feigned annoyance in spite of feeling happier than he had ever felt before.

HP

"There's something else that I'd like to do here at Diagon Alley," Annette spoke up, pointing out that all the wizards and witches were dressed in robes. "I believe that we should go and buy robes for the three of you as well."

Fortunately, she had remembered to ask Buckbean where to buy robes, and led the children straight to Madam Malkins' shop. The friendly witch thoroughly measured their sizes, to the children's silent amusement, before she told them to come back after an hour to collect the items.

"Can we go to the bookshop, please?" Hermione asked, as soon as they left the robes shop, causing the boys to nod eagerly.

"Yes, I'd like to buy the next book of _'The Five Magical Friends'_ ," Harry agreed, eagerly.

"Great idea," David concurred, grinning.

Finally, they spent the whole hour at Flourish & Blotts, looking up in surprise when Annette told them that an hour had passed already and they could go to collect their robes.

HP

On Thursday right after their primary school, the twins took the Floo to the Leaky Cauldron together with their mother and Hermione. It was a thirty-minute walk to the university, and the more time passed, the more excited the children became. The fact that they were wearing their new robes for the first time ever only helped to fuel their anticipation.

Harry and David had already visited Cillian in his rooms at the university a few times; however, this time, much more students were present than at the other times, which usually had been after classes in the evening, and not only the BBC but also other TV stations and newspaper reporters seemed to be there to observe the show and let the British Muggle world know about the first official display of magic at a renowned university.

"It's all right. We can do it," Hermione whispered to Harry and pulled both boys with her into the room.

 _'Yes, we can, but it's still strange, and I don't like so much attention,'_ Harry thought, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

HP

Neither the children nor the adults were able to imagine that their display of magic was going to cause a huge uproar not only in the Muggle but also and especially in the British magical world.

Cillian greeted his students as well as the reporters, before he introduced his sons David and Harry O'Brien as well as their best friend Hermione Granger as wizards and a witch.

"The three children will show you something that they can do with magic in order to give you a practical example of what we've been speaking about during the last few months," he announced, before he motioned the friends to commence.

HP

Harry could not help feeling extremely excited, although he was unable to explain to himself why exactly he felt that way. _'Nothing depends on it anyway,'_ he reassured himself. However, while during the previous afternoon, when they had practised together for the last time, everything had gone wrong that could go wrong, the three friends' display of their juggling charm went well. They received huge applause that made them agree to show the spectators a few more funny spells and charms, which they had practised, however, not decided if they wanted to show them at this occasion.

When they finally let their wands sink, once again, the applause was immense. Only when it had almost quietened down, a young man, who had to be one of the reporters, spoke up.

"Excuse me, may we ask some questions?" he queried with apparent interest.

"Of course," Hermione was the first to reply, smiling at the crowd.

"How old are you?" the reporter asked.

"I'm ten, and the boys are nine," Hermione replied, eagerly.

"How did you know that you were able to do magic?" another reporter asked, causing Harry to inwardly roll his eyes in annoyance.

 _'Thank Merlin Hermione willingly answers all questions,'_ he thought in relief.

"Magical children do accidental magic from an early time onwards," Hermione explained. "It was the same with us. We knew that we could do strange things, but we didn't know that it was magic. We only realised it when Professor O'Brien told us that I'm a witch and the boys are wizards."

"My brother was even called a freak by his relatives and our classmates at school," David threw in, glancing at Harry.

"Yes, we were very relieved when we were told about magic and that we weren't freaks," Hermione added.

"Can you also change things into other objects?" someone asked.

"There are spells and charms for everything, but the school of magic, which we're going to attend, only begins from the age of eleven onwards, so we can't do much yet. My friend is very powerful though," Hermione explained, giving Harry an enquiring look.

"Sometimes, I can do things without a spell, but it doesn't always work," Harry replied, feeling slightly uncertain as he accepted a pen from his father, slid his wand away and summoned his magic like he used to do for actions that required wish magic instead of wand waving.

Placing the pen on a nearby table for everyone to see, he wished it to become a plush cat, only realising that the transformation was already complete, when the group of spectators let out a collective gasp.

Before Harry even realised what had happened, the cat, which was not a plush cat, but rather a very much alive, marmalade cat with emerald green eyes, jumped down from the table and ran all over the room - to everyone's excitement.

While the students were still laughing and the journalists were eagerly scribbling on papers, a female student stepped over to Harry and laid the cat into his arms, grinning. "That was great," she said, admiringly.

"Thank you," Harry replied, feeling himself blush at the unexpected praise.

"That was an amazing display," a man said, as he stepped over to Hermione, Harry and David, introducing himself as the Prime Minister, before he profusely thanked the children for allowing him some insight into the magical world.

"Please let me just have a word," he then said to Cillian, who immediately voiced his agreement.

To Harry's surprise, the Prime Minister explained to the reporters what he had already promised Cillian about the rights of magical people in Britain and announced that if it came to his ears that any wizard or witch would be harassed by any non-magical person because of being magical, the person would be punished severely.

Cillian profusely thanked the Prime Minister for his encouraging support, before he dismissed the students and wished everyone happy Christmas holidays.

HP

"That was great fun," Hermione blurted out, when they were on their way back to the Leaky Cauldron to floo home.

"That's true," Harry and David agreed, immediately, although Harry had to admit to himself that he was very relieved that the show was over.

Only when Annette handed him the floo powder did Harry realise that he was still carrying the cat in his arms, which had nestled deep into his robes and was sleeping, contentedly.

"It's still a kitten," Cillian said upon Harry's questioning look. "Take her with you, and we'll see if she'll be able to get along with Trouble."

"If not, I can ask my parents if I may take her home," Hermione offered, however, the boys decided to try it out first.

HP

Fortunately, Trouble, who was very good-minded, sensed that the cat was only a baby and, after sniffing at her a few times, gently began to lick her fur - with apparent devotion.

"He's so cute," Harry said to David, as the boys observed how Trouble stretched out right next to the kitty for a nap.

"Absolutely," David replied, grinning. "We still have to think of a name for the kitty, by the way. Any idea?"

"Purry," Harry joked, chuckling, when the kitten began to purr in a for a kitten surprisingly loud voice, contentedly snuggling against Trouble.

HP

"I wonder if Buckbean would be willing to speak in front of your class for a change," Annette spoke up, when they were gathered around the kitchen table for dinner a few minutes later.

"I don't think so," Cillian replied, thoughtfully. "He wouldn't want to anger the other goblins, and he can't risk his position."

"And our children?" Annette queried. "Can't they get into trouble with the magical world?"

"No," Cillican reassured her in a firm voice. The children don't owe anyone in the magical world, and they have nothing to lose. If not for Buckbean, we'd still know nothing about the magical world at all. We owe him a lot, but not any wizard or witch, except maybe for the barkeeper of the Leaky Cauldron, because he introduced us to Buckbean, but that's it."

 _tbc..._


	6. Chapter 6

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

At Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore sat behind the desk in his office enjoying a lemon drop, while he gently petted his phoenix familiar's crown feathers, when Severus Snape, the Potions professor, stormed into his office.

"Severus, how nice of you to come to visit me on this fine morning," Albus greeted his youngest colleague, deciding to ignore the young wizard's upset expression for the time being.

"This is not a social visit," the head of Slytherin growled as grumpy as he might dare considering who he was speaking to, before he slapped the newest edition of the Daily Prophet on the desk in front of him. "Have you seen this?" he queried, pointing to the headline.

The headline screamed in red letters, "The Magical World Exposed to the Muggles!"

 _'What?'_ Albus thought, horrified. In fact, he was the head of the Wizengamot, and the rule about the secrecy of the magical world was one of the rules, which he had set up many decades ago. _'Why now?'_ He wondered in confusion. _'What happened?'_

He was just about to study the article, when his deputy headmistress stuck her head through the fireplace to remind him that breakfast in the Great Hall was going to commence soon.

"Minerva, please step through and ask Pomona to excuse the three of us from breakfast. We're going to have breakfast here this morning," Albus instructed her in a firm voice.

Frowning, the Transfiguration mistress stepped through the fireplace, shaking her head in apparent annoyance, before she enquired, "Albus, is that really necessary? It's the last day of classes, and all students are going to travel home tomorrow, so that we can enjoy quiet meals for more than two weeks."

"Yes dear, that's fine," Albus replied, absentmindedly, as he skimmed the article, which did not only cover the whole front page but even continued on page five.

"Cillian O'Brien," he spoke up, pensively. "Has any of you ever heard of him?"

His most trusted colleagues shook their heads in denial. "The problem is," Albus continued, "what are we going to do? It wouldn't be enough to obliviate him, as he has already been teaching students for a few months now."

"Albus," Severus spoke up in clear exasperation. "You can't obliviate the whole Muggle world. It says that BBC reported the matter in their evening news, which millions of Muggles use to watch. I believe that there's nothing that we can do about it. Dunderheads," he added, growling.

"Are any of our students involved?" Minerva asked in concern.

"Only three children of Professor O'Brien," Albus replied, citing from the newspaper, "David and Harry O'Brien as well as Hermione Granger, nine and ten years old."

He rose from his chair and stepped over to the shelf to fetch the large book of all magical children in Britain. "Let's see," he mumbled, as he skimmed the book for nine and ten year old children. "Here," he pointed to two entries, "Hermione is muggleborn, born on September 19th, and David and Harry are twins. I'm not sure if their parents are magical or Muggles though. This is a bit confusing. They're going to be ten on the sixteenth of June."

"So that means that all three of them are going to come to Hogwarts in twenty months' time," Minerva said, frowning. "It's not the children's fault anyway. They couldn't know about the statute of secrecy in the magical world, and if their parents are Muggles, they couldn't have known either."

"If they're going to attend Hogwarts at all," Severus spoke up. "The magic that they are said to have displayed is at least OWL level if not beyond. Even though they said that they were looking forward to attend a school of magic and properly learn how to cast spells and charms. At least they did not mention Hogwarts."

While they absentmindedly ate their breakfast, the professors discussed the matter, before the headmaster decided that there was nothing that they could do about it. However, he decided to pay the Minister of Magic a visit in order to possibly obtain a memory of the report by the BBC.

HP

It was after the last afternoon class of the same day that Albus called Minerva and Severus into his office again and invited them to view the BBC news spot together.

With a combination of surprise and bewilderment, the professors watched the scenes, amazed by the display from nine and ten year old children, who had apparently grown up in a Muggle environment.

"One of the boys, was that Harry Potter?" Minerva spoke up, pensively. "The one who transfigured the pen into the cat. He surely resembled him."

"That was Potter," Severus growled. "Of course. Leave it to an almighty Potter to break the statute of secrecy bringing the whole magical world into trouble."

"Now now Severus," the headmaster said, calmingly, before he rose from his chair. "Unfortunately, I must leave for a discussion at the Wizengamot. However, tomorrow morning, I will pay the Durselys a visit. How dare they allow their nephew to live with another family? It's important that he returns to his aunt's house." Turning to his deputy, he added, "Please watch over my office for a few hours."

HP

Minerva observed how her colleague stepped into the fireplace. He had been her best friend for about fifty years, and they had rarely disagreed in anything. However, there was one matter, in which she absolutely could not understand his reasoning. _'Harry seemed very happy here. Why can't he just leave him in peace?'_ she thought, feeling so annoyed that she barely registered that Severus took his leave.

HP

The O'Briens had just finished eating dinner, when the door bell rang.

"Who might that be?" Annette asked in surprise, glancing at the children, questioningly.

"No idea, Mum," the twins replied, shrugging.

"I'll go and see who it is," Cillian offered, knowing that his family did not have any contacts within the Muggle neighbourhood and that their only friends, the Grangers, used to arrive through the fireplace.

Harry heard his father speak with someone at the door, before he saw him lead an unknown visitor into the living room.

To everyone's surprise, the visitor was female and was wearing white robes.

 _'A witch,'_ Harry realised in confusion. _'Who might that be?'_

"I'm very sorry to disturb you," the elder witch spoke up, as she accepted the offered seat. "I am Poppy Pomfrey from Hogwarts, and Professor McGonagall, our deputy headmistress, sent me to urgently speak with you." Making sure that she had everyone's attention, she continued, "As you might perhaps know, Professor Dumbledore, our headmaster, insists that Harry lives together with his aunt."

Holding up her hand to prevent the boys from interrupting her, as both Harry and David began to speak, simultaneously, she continued, "He intends to visit the Dursleys in the morning in order to have them take back the boy. Therefore, Professor McGonagall sent me to warn you. If possible, maybe it would be good if you could either go into hiding, which would, for example, be possible with magical means, or if you could move elsewhere. Do you have any wizard or witch who is assisting you concerning the magical world?"

"Yes, Buckbean, one of the goblins at Gringotts," Cillian admitted, apparently trusting that the friendly witch had merely come to help them. "He's also the magical guardian of our sons."

"Shall I go and ask him over right away?" Pomfrey offered, seemingly urgent. "Maybe at this time, he'll still be in his office."

"I'll call him," Cillian replied in determination, explaining that their fireplace was connected to the Floo network.

"Thank Merlin, you're better prepared than my friend and I feared," Pomfrey said, smiling, causing Annette to tell her how they had come into connection with Buckbean.

HP

A minute later, the goblin stepped out of the fireplace and listened to what Pomfrey told him. He remained thoughtful for a moment, before he spoke up.

"Thank you, Healer Pomfrey, for alerting the O'Briens and me to the problem," he said, gently, before he turned to the Muggles. "There are two possibilities that I can suggest for you." While everyone looked at him in expectation, he continued, "One would be to put this house under the Fidelius Charm." Apparently knowing that this specific charm was beyond the O'Briens' knowledge of magic, he quickly explained how it worked, before he added, "I'd recommend something else though. Here, Professor Dumbledore could still find Harry on his way to school. However, you could live at Potter Manor, which we can also put under the Fidelius Charm. It would be difficult for the children to attend the Muggle school, however, the Manor is probably full with portraits of Harry's ancestors, who would surely be thrilled to teach the children. I know for a fact that there are also a dozen house-elves, who would be happy to serve you and also be willing to teach the boys."

"That might be for the best," Cillian said, pensively. "It's only a little more than a year before they're supposed to attend Hogwarts anyway."

"If you decide on the Manor, either the house-elves or I could, for example, add a fireplace to your office at the university, which we can connect to the floo network or even just to the Manor if that's more agreeable to you," Buckbean continued. "We can make the fireplace invisible to everyone but you." Finally, he recommended to choose Poppy Pomfrey as the Secret Keeper, and the O'Briens agreed with each of his suggestions.

On the one hand, Harry found everything very interesting and could not wait to take a look at the Manor that seemed to belong to him. However, on the other hand, he felt very bad for the O'Briens, who had to leave their home because of him.

"I'm so sorry," he uttered in a small voice.

"Harry, there's nothing to be sorry about," Cillian replied in a firm voice, while Annette pulled him into a bear's hug.

"Excuse me, but what about Hermione?" Harry asked, hesitantly, glancing at David.

"We'll call the Grangers over, once we have moved to Potter Manor," Cillian promised, nodding reassuringly.

HP

Pomfrey and Buckbean helped the O'Briens pack their most necessary belongings with magic, suggesting to leave other items like furniture there for the time being, as the house-elves would be able to fetch anything for them instantly.

Ten minutes later, Buckbean instructed Harry to step through the Floo first, while everyone else would follow right away.

 _'I wonder what the Manor is like,'_ Harry thought, feeling slightly apprehensive as he stepped through the fireplace. His anxiousness even increased, when a dozen house-elves popped up around him, as soon as he stepped out of the fireplace.

"Master Harry, we're very happy to have you here," one of the house-elves, who introduced herself as Gina, the head house-elf, addressed him, bowing deeply.

"Please don't bow, Gina," Harry replied in a soft voice, "and I'm just Harry." He quickly introduced the others who followed him through the fireplace, sighing in relief, when Pomfrey took over for him and explained the situation to the elves.

"Very well, we shall prepare the Master bedroom for Master Harry and the adjacent rooms for everyone else," Gina promised, causing Harry to hesitantly protest.

"Gina, I'd like to share just a normal room with David, please, and could you also prepare two more rooms for our best friend Hermione and her parents, please?"

"Maybe you should call the Grangers here, before Pomfrey and I put the Manor under the Fidelius charm," Buckbean threw in, causing Harry to lean into the fireplace.

HP

A minute later, Hermione and her parents stepped out of the fireplace and were introduced to Pomfrey, before Buckbean informed the Grangers about the necessity for the O'Briens to move to Potter Manor.

"Mum, Dad, may I study here with Harry and David?" Hermione blurted out, immediately. "I'm not going to go to the primary school alone." With that, she turned to Pomfrey and asked, "Are you a witch like myself? And are you really living at Hogwarts? I have so many questions..."

"Hermione, I'm sorry, dear, but first of all, we need to put the manor under a charm," Cillican interrupted the excited girl in a calm voice, glancing at Buckbean.

"Excuse me, Buckbean," Pomfrey suddenly spoke up. "I believe that it would be better if Hermione became the Secret Keeper instead of myself. She seems old and alert enough to comprehend the importance of the secrecy. Dumbledore will be very upset about the whole matter, and if he got to knew that I was involved in this..."

"Of course," Buckbean replied in understanding, before he explained to Hermione and her parents about the Fidelius charm.

Hermione immediately agreed to become the Secret Keeper and excitedly followed Buckbean and Cillian out onto the grounds for the spell to be cast.

Harry and David exchanged a glance, before they ran behind the others, closely followed by Trouble.

"I'm willing to assist you if there's anything that I can do," Pomfrey told Annette and the Grangers. "Professor McGonagall will also fully support you," she added and promised to come back together with the Transfiguration professor sometime during the next few days. "As soon as one of us manages to get away from Hogwarts, since there might be some uproar once Professor Dumbledore finds out that no one knows where Harry is," she said, smirking.

 _tbc..._


	7. Chapter 7

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

"Thank you very much, Healer Pomfrey," Annette said, smiling at the kind witch. "Until now, the children never had the opportunity to speak with any adult witch or wizard, only with Buckbean. Therefore, I'm sure that they'll really appreciate it."

Just now, the children returned with Cillian, Buckbean and Trouble. Hermione showed her parents, Annette and Pomfrey a small parchment.

"With this, you know where the manor is; otherwise, you wouldn't be able to travel here, not even through the fireplace," Buckbean explained.

"Hermione, will you please write the address again on a small parchment, so that I can give it to Professor McGonagall?" Pomfrey asked, before she turned to the boys, taking in their shallow breathing in apparent concern. "Are you all right, boys?" she finally asked, giving them a sharp look.

"They'll be fine," Cillian reassured her. "They're so excited that they ran all the way back inside, although they're not supposed to run."

"And why is that?" Pomfrey queried, looking at Annette, who proceeded to tell her about the boys' accident that had happened ten months ago.

Pomfrey gasped upon hearing the story. "Dursley tried to kill them?" Shaking her head in clear annoyance, she glanced at her wrist watch, before she said, "I need to return to Hogwarts now, before the headmaster notices my absence. However, as soon as possible, I'll come back and take a look at the boys. Maybe there's something that I can do to help them. Magical healing is much more efficient than Muggle medicine, even if not in all cases."

With that she hurriedly stepped into the fireplace, leaving the two families to Buckbean's and the house-elves' care.

HP

"She's a very nice woman," Mrs. Granger spoke up, looking from the empty fireplace to the O'Briens, who immediately agreed.

"It must have been your display of magic at the university that made Dumbledore realise that Harry is not living with the Dursleys anymore," Buckbean spoke up, before he explained to the Muggles about the statute of secrecy, which the human magical world had set up for itself.

"Will this have any consequences for our children?" Cillian asked, giving the goblin a sharp look.

"No, it won't," Buckbean reassured him. "There's nothing that they can do about it. The magical world will have to live with the fact that they've been exposed to the Muggles. I don't think that it's bad, and maybe the matter will help the magical world to actively progress into the twentieth century before it ends. In several ways, the human magical world seems to still be stuck in the middle ages," he added, smirking, before he took his leave, pointing out that the house-elves would be able to help them with everything.

HP

"For tonight, I wills show you the most important rooms of the manor as well as your rooms," Gina announced, as she proceeded to lead the small group through the centre of their new home. "It is important that at least Harry goes and introduces himself to his ancestors in the portraits, however, for tonight, it will suffice if he speaks with his parents," she continued.

"My parents?" Harry blurted out in surprise.

"Yes, there's a portrait of your parents as well," Gina replied, smiling. "If you wish, we can add it to the dining room, so that you'll have much time to confer with them."

"Yes please," Harry replied, eagerly.

"Excuse me, Gina," Hermione spoke up in apparent bewilderment. "How can he speak with a portrait?"

Gina looked at the eager girl in obvious amusement, before she explained that all magical portraits and paintings were charmed, so that their inhabitants were able to not only communicate with everyone but could even travel to other paintings.

 _'How cool is that?'_ Harry thought, happily, when Gina led him to a life-size portrait of what she explained to be his parents.

"Harry," Lily was the first to notice him. "I'm so happy to see you."

"It's about time you came here," James added. "Who's that? Your girlfriend? You're mighty young to have a girlfriend, aren't you?"

Harry could not help blushing and quickly explained that the O'Briens were his adoptive parents and the Grangers their best friends and that they had come to live in the manor to hide from Dumbledore.

"That meddling old coot," James shouted, sounding very upset.

Lily turned to Annette and Cillian and said in a soft voice, "Thank you so very much for taking Harry in rescuing him from my horrible sister. In fact, in our will, we wrote explicitly that Harry was not to be placed with her but with either of his godparents."

"I have godparents?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Yes, but I don't know what happened to them," Lily replied, pensively. "I'm a Seer, so I knew that we were going to die, but I don't know why you weren't placed with Alice or Sirius. Oh well, now that you've found such a nice family, it doesn't matter anymore anyway."

"That's true, but if they're going to live here, Sirius would be well able to teach them, at least until they go to Hogwarts. Or Remus," James added.

"Well, seeing that the children look as if they were dead on their feet, let's speak about the matter tomorrow," Lily concluded the discussion, only to add, "Maybe Harry can write a letter to Remus in the morning."

The two families bade the Potters good night, and Gina led them to the second floor, where she showed them their bedrooms, causing everyone to stare at the enormous rooms with the large windows and balconies going out onto a beautiful garden with amazement.

"This is totally cool," David blurted out, as the twins entered their new room, while Hermione efficiently tried to convince her parents to stay at the manor as well.

HP

"If yous aren't tired yet, I'll show you the recreation room, which Harry's grandfather made for James," Gina offered and led them to the top floor of one of the towers that were marking the four corners of the manor. It was a beautiful room with windows to all sides, a Muggle TV as well as a huge shelf of magical and non magical games.

"Somehow, I feel as if we had won the jackpot," Annette said, when they made themselves comfortable in the recreation room, causing everyone to agree unanimously.

HP

While the O'Briens and the Grangers were having breakfast in the dining room of Potter Manor, where they were eagerly conferring with Lily and James in their portrait, Albus Dumbledore made his way to Little Whinging to have one little boy returned to where he belonged, at least in his, Albus', opinion.

 _'I'll go to see Arabella first,'_ he decided and apparated straight into the Squib's back garden.

"Albus," the old lady, who was just busying herself in the garden, addressed him in clear surprise. "Is something wrong with little Harry?"

Albus let out a long sigh. "That's what I wanted to ask you," he then replied, feeling slightly upset at the woman in front of him. _'She was supposed to keep an eye on him. She should have told me that he's not living with the Dursleys anymore,'_ he thought, angrily. However, he merely said, "It came to my attention that Harry is not living with Petunia Dursley anymore, and I came to remedy that."

To his surprise, the old lady let out a gasp at his words. "He's not living with the Dursleys anymore?" she asked, incredulously. "Oh well, I didn't have to baby-sit him for a while, but when I asked Petunia about his whereabouts, which I do about once in a month, she always told me that he had just gone to see his friends." She remained pensive for an instant, before she continued, "He has two friends, who seem very nice. They walk to school together every day, and ever since he got his friends, Dudley seems to leave him in peace, the poor boy. He also doesn't have to work in the garden in whatever weather anymore. Maybe it's since Vernon Dursley's accident. He was badly injured by a dog and has been in hospital ever since. Before it happened, they treated Harry like a house-elf."

"Is that so?" Albus enquired and told Arabella about the BBC news, from which he had learned that Harry had to have been adopted by one Cillian O'Brien.

"O'Brien?" Arabella repeated in clear surprise. "I think the O'Briens are the people who live in the house next to the Dursleys on the left hand side. I don't know them at all though. They seem to live very much on their own and don't have any contact to the neighbours here. I think it's their dog who hurt Mr. Dursley, but I'm not sure."

"Very well," Albus said, sighing again. "Thank you very much for your help, Arabella. I'll go and speak with Petunia Dursley."

HP

Shaking his head in annoyance, Albus crossed the street and headed to the Dursleys' residence, only to stop dead in his tracks upon seeing a note in front of the house, _'FOR SALE'_. _'They're going to move?'_ he thought, horrified. _'But the blood wards...'_ His thoughts went haywire, when he rang the bell, hoping that he would still be able to reach Petunia.

It took a little while, before Petunia finally opened the door. Seeing the old wizard, even if he had changed his attire to Muggle clothes, before leaving Arabella's garden, she paled visibly.

"Good day to you too, Mrs. Dursley," Albus said, pleasantly. "May I come in for a moment?"

"If you must," Petunia replied, sounding very grumpy.

 _'Nothing like her sister,'_ Albus thought and followed the young woman into the living room, where the whale of her son was watching TV.

"You're moving from here?" Albus enquired with a combination of surprise and curiosity.

"Since my husband won't come back for nineteen more years, we can't afford the house anymore," Petunia replied, shortly.

"Excuse me, but nineteen years?" Albus asked in disbelief. _'It won't take nineteen years to recover from a dog's bite,'_ he thought in confusion, giving the young woman a sharp look.

"He's in prison," she replied, seemingly impatient. "It's all that boy's fault."

"Harry's?" Albus queried in shock.

"Who else's?" Petunia asked back, harshly. "He totally ruined our life."

"Where is he?" Albus enquired as calmly as possible. "I wish to speak with him."

"He's living with the O'Briens," Petunia informed him. "They took the guardianship over him about two years ago. Thank God. I'm so glad to be rid of him. He was such a nuisance."

 _'So much about the blood wards. They won't work if she doesn't love him,'_ Albus thought, feeling completely taken aback by the obvious hatred in Petunia's words. If he had been one hundred years younger, he'd probably have cast a reminding spell at the woman and had left, smashing the door, however, he reminded himself that with his one hundred and fifty years of age, he was supposed to be of better behaviour. Therefore, he simply bade the woman good bye and left the house, feeling very sad about the matter.

 _'I only meant well, when I placed Harry here,'_ he thought, trying in vain to soothe his bad consciousness.

 _'Minerva told you right from the beginning,'_ an annoying little voice spoke up from the back of his mind.

 _'She couldn't know either,'_ he thought back, although deep in his heart he knew that his best friend had been right. _'As usual,'_ he admitted to himself, feeling extremely annoyed and also a bit sorry. _'Nevertheless, it's important that I keep the boy under my control,'_ he resolved and rang the doorbell at the O'Briens' house in determination.

HP

To his even greater annoyance, no one opened the door. Albus waited for a few minutes. However, the house seemed to be deserted. Quickly casting an invisibility charm at himself, he unlocked the door with a silent spell, before he inspected the house for signs of the little boy of his attention.

Albus took his time to check the house, while he waited for the unknown family to return to their home. However, after a while, he realised that no one seemed to be living in the house anymore. There was no food, no clothes and no other daily articles left in the house. Most of the cupboards and wardrobes were just empty.

The thought _'They have left, perhaps even to get away from the Dursleys'_ crossed his mind, and, as much as Albus wanted to deny the idea, the more it seemed reasonable.

Finally, the fireplace caught his eye. It looked just like a normal Muggle fireplace, however, it had something that enabled any wizard to easily distinguish it from a Muggle fireplace: A small box with Floo powder was sitting on the shelf on top of it.

 _'That's it,'_ Albus thought in relief. _'If they left through the fireplace, I'll be able to track them.'_ Finally feeling a little calmer, he popped a lemon drop into his mouth, before he pulled his wand and pointed it at the fireplace. The spell that he cast made a small parchment emerge from the tip of his wand displaying the last ten destinations that had been reached from this fireplace.

 _tbc..._


	8. Chapter 8

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

Albus looked at the parchment with interest, only to stare at it in disbelief. There were two entries with _'The Leaky Cauldron'_ , two others with _'The Grangers' home'_ , however, the six newest entries dating from the previous evening listed _'Unknown destination'_.

 _'What?'_ he thought in disbelief, only to realise in shock, _'Maybe they travelled to a building which is under the Fidelius charm. But they're Muggles. I wonder who's helping them.'_ He grabbed a bit of the Floo powder and stepped in the fireplace to return to his office, feeling very much frustrated. _'The magical world has been exposed, and Harry Potter has vanished,'_ he thought in annoyance, as he let himself sink onto the chair behind his desk.

"Things are being taken out of my hand," he told his deputy, who had been waiting for him in his office, before he explained about his findings. "I can only wait and see if Harry will come to Hogwarts in twenty months' time."

"Albus, I won't pity you this time," Minerva replied, seeming strangely calm about the matter. "Everything that happened is your own fault, even the exposure of the magical world, because you sent Harry to these stupid Muggles instead of allowing me to raise him at Hogwarts.

"You can be glad that Harry is alive at all," she then added, pensively. "Considering that Arabella told you Mr. Dursley was in hospital and Petunia said he was in prison for nineteen years and it was Harry's fault, Mr. Dursley was probably imprisoned for hurting Harry."

"That's true," Albus had to admit in shock. "I didn't even think of that, but considering that he got nineteen years, maybe he did as much as try to kill the boy. Minerva," he added, pensively, do you believe that I should retire from my position as headmaster?"

"No Albus," Minerva replied, without even having to consider the matter. "However, I think that, as the head of the Wizengamot, you should enquire why the Ministry of Magic did not act much earlier. I thought the Minister was in touch with the British Prime Minister. He should have known about Mr. O'Brien's class as well as about the three children's display of underage magic. In my opinion, he's the one who needs to retire, not you."

"Maybe you're right," Albus replied, pensively, adding, "Too bad that Fawkes is close to a burning day. Otherwise, I could send him to Harry and find out where he is."

"Albus!" his deputy and best friend scolded him, glaring at him. "Harry will be safe for the time being. So please just leave him in peace."

 _'Oh well, instead of trying to find Harry, I should better find out who's responsible for this mishap and fire them,'_ he decided. Asking Minerva to once more look after his office, he stepped into the fireplace, resolving to continue his search for Harry again after Christmas.

HP

The O'Briens and the Grangers spent the whole morning discussing various topics with Harry's parents. They finally decided that Annette should teach the three children Muggle primary school knowledge, while they would try to find one of Lily's and James' friends to instruct the children in magic. In the worst case, Lily and James would teach them themselves from their portrait.

"Harry, write a letter to Sirius Black and Remus Lupin and ask them to come and visit us here," James instructed his son. "Add this address, written by Hermione, and ask them to destroy the parchment right after reading it."

Lily rolled her eyes in apparent annoyance. "Only write to Remus, Harry. We'll ask him about Sirius, and we'll just teach you a charm to place on the parchment so that it vanishes into thin air as soon as it has been read. It's not that difficult," she spoke up and proceeded to teach the children how to charm the parchment with the address.

While Hermione and David practised the charm, Harry wrote his letter, wondering how he would be able to send it to his parents' friend. When he voiced his question, his parents told him to go and buy an owl at the next opportunity.

"For now, you can ask one of the elves to deliver your letter," James added.

HP

As soon as Gina had delivered the letter, the children began to wonder when Remus Lupin was going to arrive, causing the adults to inwardly groan.

"Why don't you go and explore the manor?" Annette finally suggested, causing the three to dash away, closely followed by Trouble and Purry.

"She behaves more like a dog than a cat," Annette laughed, "probably because of being raised by a dog."

"I can't thank you enough for giving my son such a nice family," Lily spoke up, smiling at the O'Briens and the Grangers.

"He's a son to be proud of," Annette replied, returning the smile.

HP

Just a few minutes later, Remus Lupin arrived at Potter Manor and was led into the dining room, where he explained what had happened to Harry's godparents.

Harry liked the man immediately. _'No wonder that he was one of my parents' best friends,'_ he thought, feeling incredibly happy that he was now able to get to know his parents and their friends.

"Sirius was not our Secret Keeper," Lily spoke up, seemingly horrified. "It was Peter. As much as I always disliked Sirius, he wouldn't kill anyone."

"What about the thirteen Muggles and Peter?" Remus replied in a grave voice. "We won't be able to clear his name, even if he wasn't your Secret Keeper."

"That doesn't sound like something Sirius would do," James spoke up, pensively. "Maybe Peter arranged the whole thing to get Sirius into trouble. As a rat Animagus, he could have easily vanished from the scene."

"That maybe," Remus agreed. "However, as long as we don't catch Peter alive, there's nothing that we can do for Sirius I'm afraid."

"Peter?" Pomfrey asked, as she entered the room, having heard Remus' last sentence.

"Peter Pettigrew," Remus explained and told the healer everything about the Potters' change of their Secret Keepers.

"But they only found a finger of Pettigrew," Pomfrey replied in apparent surprise.

"Well, he might have cut it off before transforming into his rat form to feign his own death," James said, matter-of-factly. "Who'd notice if a rat was missing a toe?"

"A rat that's missing a toe?" Pomfrey blurted out, alarmed. "Well, it might be a coincidence, but Percy Weasley's rat is missing a toe. I'm sure because he was in the hospital wing for a week recently, and that rat drove me nuts."

"I'll ask my colleague to check on Mr. Weasley's rat, as soon as the students return to Hogwarts," Pomfrey promised in a firm voice. "She or I can easily confirm with a spell if it's a real rat or an Animagus." She remained pensive for a moment, before she added, "Professor McGonagall knows the Weasleys well. Maybe she'll be able to pay them a short visit to check on the rat right away. Before I return to Hogwarts though, I'd like to check on the two boys."

"David and Harry, why don't you take Healer Pomfrey with you to your room for a moment?" Annette suggested and rose from her chair to join her sons and the healer.

She observed in concern how the healer waved her wand over David multiple times, muttering to herself, before she turned to Annette.

"There's a healing spell, which I can cast at David to help improve his situation. However, I might have to re-cast the spell on a yearly basis. We'll have to keep an eye on him."

"Please go ahead," Annette said, looking at the healer in expectation.

Pomfrey once more waved her wand over David, uttering an incantation, before she gave him a piercing look. "Do you feel differently?" she enquired in a soft voice.

"Much better," David replied, immediately. "Thank you so much, Healer Pomfrey."

"You're welcome," the old witch replied, smiling, before she turned to Harry casting a series of diagnostic spells.

From her expression, Harry already knew that the news was going to be bad. _'I'm still a freak_ ,' he thought, inwardly groaning.

"I'm afraid that there's nothing that I can do about Harry's lung," the healer said, pensively. "I'll do some research and speak with a friend at St. Mungo's," she promised, explaining, "the wizarding hospital. Maybe they'll be able to invent something, be it a spell or a potion, before Harry is going to come to Hogwarts." Apparently realising that the boy looked at her with anxiousness, she gently patted his arm. "Don't worry, child. If you're really careful, you'll be fine."

"All right, thank you Professor," Harry replied in a small voice.

With that, the healer returned to Hogwarts, promising to send Professor McGonagall to check on Percy Weasley's rat and inform the O'Briens about her findings later the same day.

HP

In order to distract the children from the questions when the healer would come back and if she was going to have good news for Harry's godfather, Remus took them into the Defence room, one of the rooms for practising magic.

Harry was very excited, just like his brother and their best friend. _'He's going to properly teach us magic,'_ he thought, feeling very happy.

"Harry, you must be careful to not overdo it," the older wizard warned him, causing Harry to inwardly groan, before he began to teach them a few easy spells, beginning with the Expelliarmus spell.

The children had much fun, especially when they were allowed to try using their newly learned spells on Remus, which was almost impossible, since the older wizard was always able to dodge their spells. They did not even realise how the time passed and let out a collective sigh of annoyance, when Annette came to fetch them for lunch.

HP

It was a few hours later that Pomfrey returned with McGonagall in tow. The O'Briens and the Grangers, who all knew the Transfiguration professor from _'Hogwarts: A History'_ , greeted the professor with enthusiasm.

"Professor, I hope you have much time," Hermione blurted out with apparent enthusiasm. "I have so many questions."

The professor smiled at the excited children. "Unfortunately not," she then replied. "I'm needed at Hogwarts today, because our headmaster is going to be stuck at the Ministry of Magic at least for the rest of the day." She let out a long sigh, before she continued, "The Minister of Magic has been released from his duties today, and Professor Dumbledore as the head of the Wizengamot has to organise the selection of a new Minister. We only got away for an hour, asking the Potions professor to oversee the headmaster's office on my behalf."

"Excuse me, Professors, did you find out something about the rat?" Harry asked, eagerly, giving the old witches a hesitant look.

"Yes," Pomfrey replied, smiling, while McGonagall pulled a wooden rat out of her robe pocket. Turning to Remus Lupin, she explained, "This is Peter Pettigrew."

Remus reached out and took the rat from his former teacher, before he thanked the two witches profusely. "What do you recommend us to do?" he then asked.

"I already discussed the matter with Poppy and Severus, and we believe that it would be the best if you called Tonks and Shacklebolt here, two Aurors," she explained to the Muggles and the children, "and tell them everything. If you attended a trial stating that Mr. Black was not the Secret Keeper, you'd have to prove it, and if you don't want to alert people to the fact that you're residing at Potter Manor, you can't prove it. When the Aurors can speak with Lily and James though, it will be accepted as a fact by the court. They'll know what to do."

Everyone agreed to speak with the Aurors like the professor had suggested, and McGonagall leaned into the fireplace in the entrance hall, showing Tonks a small parchment which Hermione had quickly written in her meticulous hand-writing.

HP

To the children's excitement, a young witch with green hair stepped out of the fireplace, followed by her colleague.

 _'They seem very nice,'_ Harry thought, observing the witch with interest.

The two Aurors listened to what McGonagall told them, before they confirmed with the Potters that Peter Pettigrew had been their Secret Keeper. Afterwards, they changed Peter Pettigrew back into his human form and questioned him under Veritaserum.

 _'He's disgusting,'_ Harry thought in disdain. _'Somehow, he looks a bit like Uncle Vernon. Oh well, he's probably going to end up in prison as well.'_ He inwardly sighed in relief, when the man with the missing finger was forced back into the form of a wooden rat.

"Thank you all for trying to help Sirius," Tonks finally spoke up, glancing around. "Most of you won't know this, but he's my cousin, and I never believed that he was guilty of what they said he did. I think that we have enough material to clear his name. However, the court will neither listen to children, nor to non-magical people, let alone to a werewolf. Minerva, will you..."

"I'm sorry," McGonagall interrupted her, sighing. "Albus mustn't know about Harry's whereabouts, and if he knew that Poppy and I knew where he was, we'd be in a lot of trouble."

"I understand," Tonks replied, nodding pensively. "In that case, it's probably a good timing now, maybe even the best possible, as each of the candidates for the minister's position would surely be ready to assist in a trial that is supposed to gain publicity all over the magical world, which the trial against the person responsible for the Potters' death definitely will."

"Who exactly are the candidates?" James spoke up.

"Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Bones and Professor Dumbledore," McGonagall replied, smirking.

"Ask Weasley then," James suggested. "Let's leave Dumbledore out of this. He's done too much harm already."

 _tbc..._


	9. Chapter 9

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

Harry was almost disappointed when Remus stepped into the fireplace behind the Aurors to accompany them to the Ministry of Magic hoping to be able to clear his friend's name before Christmas.

"Sounds difficult considering that the day after tomorrow is Christmas Eve," McGonagall mumbled and explained where Azkaban was situated. Promising to come back on Christmas Eve at the latest to show the children how to magically decorate a Christmas tree, the two witches returned to Hogwarts.

HP

Tonks and Remus indeed managed to convince Mr. Weasley to have Sirius transferred from Azkaban to the Ministry of Magic and to set up a trial for the following morning.

"Remus, what are you going to do? Will you stay here in the manor with the O'Briens and the Grangers?" James asked from his portrait, when his friend returned with the good news.

Remus cast the portrait an exasperated look, before he asked back in a subdued voice, "Have you forgotten about my furry problem?"

"That's not a problem," James reassured him, before he explained to everyone that Remus was a werewolf and that there was a specific room for a werewolf in the cellar, which his father had made for Remus.

"I better return to my flat overnight," Remus added, glancing at Harry.

"Why?" Harry replied, simply. "If there's a specific room where you can stay during the full moon, we'd love you to live here together with us, don't we?" he asked in a small voice, knowing that his adoptive parents were quite fond of Remus. He gave Annette and Cillian an uncertain look.

"Of course, we'd love to have you here," Annette spoke up, and the other adults agreed immediately.

HP

The trial in the morning was a fast affair. With Tonks and Shacklebolt joining Remus as the witnesses, Sirius was questioned under Veritaserum, and after a short break, the verdict was announced. Sirius was a free man, who was offered his former position as an Auror along with a compensation of one million Galleons.

Sirius accepted the compensation, however, refused to work as an Auror again, insisting that he was going to look for his godson and raise him, at least until the boy was old enough to attend Hogwarts.

Peter Pettigrew received an appointment with a Dementor at Azkaban later the same day.

Seeing that Dumbledore crossed the room to get to them, Remus whispered to his friend, "Let's go," before he apparated both of them straight out of the courtroom to his own appartment.

"Thanks for everything, Moony," Sirius said in apparent confusion.

"I wouldn't have been able to do that alone. Now let's take the Floo to Potter Manor," Remus instructed him, showing him a small parchment, which Hermione had given him earlier the same day for this purpose.

HP

Harry stared at the man with curiosity. Sirius was dirty and seemed exhausted, however, his smile was contagious, and he seemed to be very happy to see him and his family.

Apparently totally amazed because they now had two wizards stay with them, who had time to speak with them and answer her questions, Hermione asked whatever came into her mind about the magical world, about Hogwarts and the professors.

To Harry's amusement, Sirius was not only willing to answer all of her questions, but he was also very funny and told them much about pranks that he and his friends had played during their own time at Hogwarts.

HP

After lunch, the children begged their parents to head to Diagon Alley, as they wanted to buy some Christmas presents for their family, which had unexpectedly grown over the last few days.

"I'll take you to Diagon Alley," Cillian offered, suggesting that they should also buy an owl on that occasion.

"I can take the children if you want me to," Sirius offered, stating that he had to go and buy Christmas presents as well.

Finally, the large family decided to go all together and separate in the town for a while, so that everyone could see to their needs.

"Remus," Harry spoke up, hesitantly, when everyone headed to the Magical Menagerie together, "you know we took the rat from one of the Weasley boys. Do you think I could buy a new pet for him? Somehow I feel bad for taking his pet."

When he slowly turned his eyes towards the older wizard, he realised that Remus was smiling at him. "Harry, although your outer appearance is very much like that of your father, you're like your mum. She was the kindest witch I've ever known." He let out a long sigh. "Harry, if you don't mind buying the boy a new pet, I'm sure that he'll be very happy. I don't know him well, but I know the Weasleys. They're good people, but they can't afford much, considering that they have seven children."

"All right then, I'll buy something for him," Harry decided, feeling so very happy at his own decision that he did not notice the appreciative looks, which he received from his large family.

While he was still pondering what kind of animal to buy for the boy, whom he did not even know, they reached the Magical Menagerie, and right in front of the entrance door, Harry saw something and immediately decided that it would be the right thing.

A white rabbit was sitting on a small mat made of straw. It had green eyes and fluffy looking pinkish ears. However, what was special with the rabbit was that about once a minute, it spit out what looked like a candy into a bowl that was placed on the ground in front of it.

"Excuse me, sir, what's this?" Hermione immediately asked, only to receive the information that it was a magical rabbit which was able to spit out either herb drops or lemon drops. "It depends on whether you feed him herbs or lemons together with his normal food at least once a day," an older wizard told the children. "He's not cheap though. He costs fifty Galleons, because it's a very rare species."

"I want him," Harry decided, leaving the rabbit where it was to take it with him on the way back. "We still have to look at the owls first," he told the friendly wizard.

HP

He quietly followed the others through the shop, looking at this and that, enjoying himself greatly.

"I'd rather have another kitten," Hermione spoke up, thoughtfully, as they passed a corridor with kittens.

"I believe that a dog and one cat are enough, dear," her mother replied, causing Annette to agree immediately.

"Well, the house is definitely large enough," Cillian threw in, smirking.

When they finally reached the section with the owls, Hermione's view fell onto an owl in a strange, yellow colour.

"Excuse me, sir, is that an owl?" she asked the wizard, who had followed them through the shop.

"She's a mixture between an owl and some kind of parrot," the man replied. "I'm not sure what exactly, however, she's very alert and flies fast."

"Harry, David, what do you think?" Hermione asked, eagerly, only to notice in surprise that Harry was gone.

HP

Harry looked at the different animals with interest, when all of a sudden, a voice penetrated his ears.

#Why do these tall-legged ones buy chicks as Christmas presents for their nestlings all the time in spite of having no clue how to clip their wings and make their nests?#

Harry looked up in surprise, only to find himself staring at the most beautiful bird that he had ever seen. It was extremely colourful. While his head feathers were green, his side and back wings held all possible colours.

"Excuse me, what exactly do you mean?" he asked, uncertainly looking at the bird.

#Ah, a speaker,# the bird trilled, sounding much happier than before and extremely pleased. #I'm a flower phoenix,# he told Harry, #and I need someone like you, who's able to understand my babbling, to bond with me.#

"A flower phoenix," Harry repeated in surprise.

#Look,# the phoenix instructed him, before he flashed to the other side of the room, leaving a bunch of small flowers as he left. #I can make flowers as well as all kind of herbs, which can be used for potions,# he explained after returning to his former spot, only to add, #and I can make people very happy.#

While Harry was still pondering what to do, the phoenix' voice suddenly reached his mind. 'I took the liberty of bonding with you. I hope that was all right,' he thought to him.

"Sure," Harry replied in confusion, accepting in surprise that the bird nestled down on his left shoulder.

#You'll be able to use telepathy to me too,# the bird informed him, beginning to meticulously clean his wing feathers.

"Telephathy?" Harry asked, startled, causing the phoenix to let out a sound that strangely resembled a chuckle.

'Mind thinking,' the bird explained.

HP

A short while later, the large, combined family left the Magical Menagerie with a rabbit in a cage, a very special owl in another cage and a phoenix perched on Harry's shoulder.

"May we please go alone for a while?" Hermione spoke up, giving the adults a pleading look. "We really need to buy some Christmas presents."

"I'll accompany the children," Remus offered, before he voiced his concern that Dumbledore might be ready to abduct Harry if he spotted him. "Even if I don't think that he has time to gallivant Diagon Alley right now, it would be safer if Sirius or I was with the children," he explained.

"Yeah, I think so too," Sirius agreed. "When Harry's got used to his new phoenix, the bird will be able to flash him away quickly, but until then..."

Everyone agreed, and the group parted, only to meet again at Flourish & Blotts two hours later. To Harry's chagrin, Hermione always stayed close to him, almost as if she was worried about the headmaster trying to abduct him, so that he found it impossible to buy any Christmas present for the girl without her noticing. Finally, he resolved to ask Gina for help later on, glad that he at least managed to unobtrusively buy a book for David.

HP

Back on Diagon Alley, the huge family ran straight into an equally large group of red heads.

"The Weasleys," Remus quickly informed the group, before he stepped ahead, greeted Mr. Weasley and thanked him profusely for his help freeing Sirius.

"Thank you very much, sir," Sirius added and introduced the O'Briens and the Grangers to the Weasleys.

"Excuse me, sir," Harry spoke up in a soft voice, addressing Mr. Weasley. "We've bought a new pet for your son, to whom the rat belonged. We're very sorry that he lost his familiar." With that he handed the cage with the white rabbit over to the boy who stepped forward upon hearing his words.

"Hello, I'm Percy Weasley," he introduced himself, reaching out for the cage. "Thank you very much. I really appreciate it, although it was not necessary at all. It wasn't your fault that my rat was a criminal in his Animagus form."

"I hope you'll like it," Harry replied, smiling, and explained what the wizard in the shop had told him about the rabbit.

"Oh, please give him lemons to eat. I like lemon drops," the only girl in the group of children spoke up, smiling as she looked from Percy to Harry.

"Why does Percy need a pet at all?" one of the boys spoke up, frowning. "No one else has pets anyway."

"Oh Ron..."

"... shut up..."

"... and don't be jealous..."

"... of everyone and everything," his twin brothers admonished him in a funny sing-song that made Harry, David and Hermione laugh.

"Are you twins?" David asked with interest and, seeing the twins nod, pointed to Harry and himself. "We're twins, too."

While the children talked animatedly, not bothering that all the people in a rush of buying last minute Christmas presents had to make a detour around the large group, the adults led a conversation in almost equal excitement.

Once Mr. Weasley realised how much the O'Briens and the Grangers knew about the magical world, he told them about his interest in the Muggle world, and finally, Sirius invited the Weasleys to Potter Manor for dinner on Christmas Eve.

Smirking, Hermione produced a small parchment out of her robe pocket and handed it to Mr. Weasley, who quickly passed it on to the whole family and returned it to the young witch once everyone had read the address.

HP

Back at home, the children headed to the dining room first to show Lily and James their new pets, closely followed by the adults.

"I still need a name for my phoenix," Harry spoke up, thoughtfully, as he stepped in front of his parents' painting.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Lily asked with apparent interest.

#I am a lady,# the phoenix replied in an indignant voice, proceeding to nibble Harry's ear lobe.

Harry translated, and Cillian suggested, "Why don't you call her Flora after the Roman goddess of flowers?"

"Shall I call you Flora?" Harry asked, gently petting the phoenix' crown feathers.

#I'd like that,# his familiar replied, letting out a series of trills, which clearly expressed her pleasure.

"I wonder if it was wise to invite the Weasleys here," James suddenly spoke up, glancing at Sirius and Remus. "They won't give Harry out, will they?"

Remus chuckled. "I don't think that they're on good terms with Dumbledore anymore after what Mr. Weasley told me the other day. Otherwise, I wouldn't have allowed Sirius to suggest for them to come here. He asked me before inviting them."

 _tbc..._


	10. Chapter 10

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

The morning of Christmas Eve was very exciting for the children. Before leaving his room, Harry sent Gina to unobtrusively buy a kitten for Hermione as well as some sweets for each of the Weasley children to give them to their visitors in the evening. When he finally headed downstairs for breakfast, he realised to his surprise Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey had already arrived to help them set up a Christmas tree.

"Where are we going to put the tree?" Harry asked, while Annette and Remus ushered the older witches into the dining room to join them for breakfast.

"Harry, that's a valid question," Cillian replied, chuckling, before he explained to their visitors that family life at the manor mostly took place in the dining room in order to involve Lily and James in their conversations. Only the evenings were often spent in the recreation room.

"We don't have enough place for a Christmas tree here though," Annette added, thoughtfully.

"Set it up in the parlour," James threw in from his portrait. "That's where my parents and grandparents always put up our trees."

HP

After a short breakfast, the children eagerly learnt from the two witches how to decorate a Christmas tree with magic. While Professor McGonagall taught them a spell to transfigure tissues into colourful baubles and other ornaments, Pomfrey showed them how to charm the tree in a way, so that snow was falling onto the top of the tree without reaching the floor.

"I love it," Hermione said, seemingly contented, when they finally finished the tree and stepped back to get a good look at it.

"Oh my, this is absolutely beautiful," Annette blurted out upon entering the room. "Very well done."

Trouble seemed to like the tree as well. He ran a few rounds around the tree, closely followed by Purry, before he stood on his hind legs pointing his nose at one of the colourful baubles.

"Oh, you want your own bauble?" Harry asked in amusement. He quickly transfigured another tissue into a golden bauble and stared at it for a moment, before he hung the bauble, which was now decorated with Trouble playing with Purry, onto the tree.

"You better cast an unbreakable charm at it," Professor McGonagall suggested and showed him the wand movement along with the incantation.

"Thank you so much, Professor," Harry replied and hurried to cast the spell at the bauble, before he showed it to Trouble, who gratefully licked his hands.

"You're welcome, sweetie," Harry told the dog and proceeded to cuddle with him.

HP

Dinner with the Weasleys was a funny affair. Harry especially liked the twins, who talked a lot and entertained everyone with funny stories of their first few months at Hogwarts.

"If you played pranks like that all the time, I'm surprised that Professor McGonagall didn't complain about you more often," Mrs. Weasley finally spoke up and shook her head in annoyance, making the O'Briens and the Grangers laugh.

 _'I hope we can become friends with the twins,'_ Harry thought. _'They're really funny. Ginny, Bill and Charlie seem nice, too, although I don't like Ron and Percy very much._ '

HP

After dinner, everyone headed to the recreation room. On the way up the staircase, David cornered the twins and asked, "Would you perhaps teach us some of these pranks?"

"Oh yes please," Harry added, eagerly, causing the twins to grin.

"Sure..."

"... Do you have a potions lab?" they queried, making the younger twins stare at them in confusion.

"I think there's something..."

"... somewhere in this manor..."

"... but we don't know where it is," they replied, giving Hermione a questioning look.

"Go back to the dining room and ask the Potters," the girl suggested, adding, "I'll tell Mum, so that they won't worry about us."

"If our mother gets to know, they will worry," the Weasley twins contradicted, smirking.

By now the boys were back in the dining room and spoke with the Potters.

"Harry, call Gina and instruct her to make a small photo frame, into which I can slip, so that I can accompany and supervise you," Lily told her son in a firm voice that allowed no contradiction. "The brewing of potions can be very dangerous, and even if I can't effectively help you, I might be able to warn you in advance."

"Mistress Lily," Gina addressed the portrait, "shall I ask Tipsy to accompany the children? She's very adept at brewing potions and will be able to assist them."

HP

Finally, Tipsy led the excited children into the potions lab. Harry absentmindedly placed the small photo frame with Lily onto the table, before he let his eyes wander around the lab in absolute amazement. The lab was situated on the top floor of one of the four towers which were placed at each end of the manor, similar to the recreation room. Underneath the windows surrounding the room where shelves with ingredients on one side, empty phials on another side, cauldrons of different sizes and material on the third side and finally several large sinks on the last side. The centre of the room was occupied by four workstations.

"This is totally amazing," Hermione blurted out, causing the others to nod their agreement.

"Unbelievable to be able to brew..."

"... in such surroundings," the Weasley twins spoke up, grinning broadly at each other, before they suggested brewing a potion that made everyone's head turn into parrots' heads.

"Are you sure that it won't harm our parents?" Hermione threw in, worriedly. "As you know, our parents are Muggles."

Knowing that Lily was a healer, Hermione turned to the small portrait, and Harry inwardly sighed in relief when his mother confirmed that it would be absolutely harmless even for Muggles.

"I suggest, however, to play the first prank on Sirius and Remus only," she continued to speak. "Another time, you can then target everyone."

The children grudgingly agreed, understanding that Lily probably was right. "Then we need to do something more spectacular than just parrots heads though," Harry spoke up in anticipation.

"I can help you change your recipe accordingly," Lily promised, smirking.

HP

While the five children spent the rest of the evening brewing several easy prank potions, the adults and the other Weasley children enjoyed themselves in the recreation room. Amazed at the TV that obviously worked in a magical environment, Mr. Weasley asked Cillian many questions that finally led to a small excursion to the O'Briens' Muggle house.

When everyone was back in the recreation room, the O'Briens and Grangers exchanged presents with the Weasleys, before the visitors headed home around midnight.

To Harry's surprise, Mr. Weasley and Cillian had, while they were at their former home, agreed that the Weasleys should visit them in Potter Manor again for dinner on the day after Christmas day.

"I hope Mr. Weasley at least asked his wife in advance," Mrs. Granger spoke up, when Cillian told them about their arrangement, glancing at Annette.

"Men," Annette replied, grinning. "Oh well, the manor is so big that I really don't mind having them here," she added, and everyone else agreed.

HP

It was when Christmas dinner was almost finished and everyone was eating their desserts that Sirius and the three children suddenly transformed into baboons - to everyone's amusement.

=Let's play a little= Sirius suggested, and the four baboons spent an hour roaming the halls of Potter Manor enjoying themselves greatly.

After exactly one hour, they automatically transformed back into their human forms.

"That was great," Sirius commended the children. "You really have talent to become worthy successors of the Marauders," he added, before he had to explain everything about the little group that he had his friends had made during their time at Hogwarts.

HP

During the remaining days of the winter holidays, the Weasleys came to visit the O'Briens and the Grangers almost on a daily basis, and not only became Harry, David and Hermione good friends with the twins and Ginny, but also the adults seemed to enjoy each other's company very much. On some evenings, Mr. Weasley was unable to join his family due to being busy at the Ministry of Magic, and the Weasleys' three oldest sons sometimes stayed away as well.

"I hope that Arthur Weasley will become the new Minister of Magic," Cillian spoke up one morning. "Tomorrow is the election."

"On New Year's Eve?" Mr. Granger asked in apparent surprise which everyone shared and that intensified when Cillian confirmed the date.

"I hope that he wins, too," Sirius agreed. "Not only because he's very nice, but also because I don't want the meddling old coot Dumbledore as Minister. Bad enough that he's the head of the Wizengamot and the headmaster of Hogwarts."

"Arthur also promised to support my magic class if he becomes the Minister," Cillian added, smiling at the children.

HP

It was only in the morning of New Year's day when Cillian Floo called the Weasleys to enquire about the election, that they heard that Mr. Wealey had indeed become the new Minister of Magic.

"Congratulations Molly, and please give Arthur my best regards. Please come to visit us as soon as things have quietened down a little," they heard Cillian speak, before he ended the fire call.

HP

To Harry's, David's and Hermione's chagrin, the twins had to return to Hogwarts on the following day, and only Ron and Ginny remained at the Burrow with their parents.

"Shall we invite them here or rather not?" David asked, causing a huge discussion about the pros and contras and the question if it would be possible to only invite Ginny leaving Ron out.

However, the topic came to an end abruptly, when Sirius spoke up in a stern voice. "As you heard, Hogwarts is going to commence tomorrow. Therefore, you're going to have classes as well, and Ronald and Ginny Weasley will join you." He handed each of them a schedule that listed various subjects with Annette, Sirius, Remus and Molly Weasley. They even had a few hours of Potions class with Lily and Tipsy and one Ancient Runes class with James. "We expect you to be on time for all classes, just as if you were attending school," Sirius added, strictly.

Harry observed his godfather in amusement. _'I'd have never guessed that he could speak in such a strict voice,'_ he thought. _'So far, he did not much but nonsense since he came here.'_

HP

However, classes turned out to be very interesting, and the children enjoyed themselves very much.

"This is much more interesting than only being taught by Mum," Ginny whispered to Harry after a few weeks of classes together. "I'm glad that we're allowed to join you."

"We're also very happy to have you here," Harry replied, smiling. _'I miss the twins though. They're really funny and always in a good mood, not at all like their brother Ron. I don't know why he's so grumpy all the time.'_

HP

Unbeknownst to the children, at the beginning of April, Cillian and Mr. Weasley had a meeting with the British Prime Minister concerning Cillian's classes, during which Mr. Weasley explained about the statute of secrecy concerning the magical world that hindered him to actively support the matter. Following their meeting, they sent a petition to the head of the Wizengamot about the shun of the statute of secrecy from their three institutions, the Ministry of Magic, the university and the Muggle government.

"I don't think that Dumbledore will accept our petition," Mr. Weasley said, sighing, when the Weasleys came to Potter Manor for dinner on Sunday evening, like they had been doing regularly since the beginning of the year.

Sirius nodded, grumpily. "How would he get people like the Malfoys to agree to such a thing?" he spoke up. "The only way I can imagine for Dumbledore to agree would be to not openly discuss the matter in front of the Wizengamot but just to decide by himself."

"Why would he?" Remus threw in, looking questioningly at his friend.

Sirius let out a snort. "To get to Harry maybe. Like McGonagall told us, he knows that Cillian is Harry's adoptive father, and if the class at the university is continued, Harry might attend the class to perform some magic again, which would be an opportunity for Dumbledore to get to Harry," he explained, seemingly serious.

"That might be true," James agreed.

"But we're always with Harry, and if we did magic in your class again, Flora would join Harry anyway. She could take him home very quickly," David spoke up, shrugging.

"Sure my dear," Annette confirmed, "and we could even ask Gina or any of the elves to invisibly stay close to Harry to take him back here if the need arose."

"Shall we do another performance then?" Hermione enquired, eagerly. "I'd love to practise some funny spells again."

"Let's see and wait for the outcome of the petition," Cillian replied, calmly. "For the time being, I'll just continue with the class in theory, without any display of magic. We'll leave that for the last class before the summer holidays or such like the last time, provided that Dumbledore agrees to our suggestion. I wouldn't want any of the three of you to get into trouble with the magical world, and even the Minister can't openly act against Dumbledore's wishes. As the head of the Wizengamot, he is too influential and could make Arthur loose his position over the matter."

"If Albus Dumbledore agrees and you plan another display of magic at the university, I'm sure my twins would love to join you," Molly Weasley added, smiling at the excited children.

"Oh, that would be great," Harry and David blurted out, simultaneously.

HP

Everyone was surprised when Professor Dumbledore indeed gave in to the petition of the Minister of Magic, the Prime Minister and the Ethnology professor.

 _tbc..._


	11. Chapter 11

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

"Albus, did I understand it correctly that you just agreed to shun the statute of secrecy?" Severus Snape queried in disbelief, quirking an eyebrow at the headmaster.

"I believe that it's a very good idea," Minerva McGonagall replied, glancing at Albus Dumbledore, "even if your reasoning is beyond my comprehension."

"Let me guess," Snape continued to rant, groaning. "It's all about Potter, isn't it?"

Dumbledore let out a deep sigh. "Well, I'd love to keep an eye on little Harry. As you know, there's that prophecy made about Harry and Voldemort. I believe that Voldemort will return at some stage and Harry has to battle him. He'll need some guidance from magical people, not from Muggles. Oh well," he interrupted his tirade, "I think that these lessons at the university are harmless and won't hurt the magical world."

"They surely are," Minerva agreed, only to add, "I know Mr. O'Brien personally, and I believe that he's most qualified for holding a class about magic for Muggle students." _'Just like he or his wife would probably make an excellent professor for Muggle studies,'_ she thought to herself.

"Minerva," Dumbledore spoke up, seemingly horrified, "you know Professor O'Brien?"

"Yes, I have met him somewhere," Minerva admitted. "He's a good friend of Arthur Weasley."

"He what?" Dumbledore queried, knitting his brows.

"I think the whole Weasley clan is friends with the O'Briens," the Gryffindor head confirmed, lightly.

"Well, the problem is that the blood wards don't work anymore if Harry is not living together with his aunt," Dumbledore slightly changed the topic, causing Lily, who was secretly following the conversation from Godric Gryffindor's portrait, to groan.

"Professor Dumbledore," she spoke up, causing everyone except for Minerva to turn to her in apparent surprise, "these blood wards only work based on love, something which is nonexistent between my sister and my son. If Death Eaters came and wanted to get to Harry, my sister would gladly hand him over. Now, however, my son has a new family, with a twin brother who shares his blood and would be ready to do anything for him."

"But he needs the blood wards," Dumbledore explained, patiently.

"Mr. Weasley and a few members of his staff saw to it and placed blood wards around our house, in addition to the Fidelius charm," Lily replied, firmly. "My son is surrounded by people who love him and mean the world to him. I'm sure that he's absolutely safe right now. In fact, I'm just wondering if he'll be as safe if he decides to attend Hogwarts in a year's time. With a headmaster who placed him into an abusive home against James' and my clear wishes stated in our will, I'm not sure if I can recommend it to him."

Dumbledore thoughtfully stroked his beard. "I shall see to it that Harry will be safe at Hogwarts," he then promised, causing Minerva and Lily to let out a simultaneous snort.

HP

At the beginning of June, just a few days before the twins' eleventh birthday, the next open display of magic took place at Cillian's class. Cillian had decided to wait a year to let things settle a bit before taking action again. Like the last time, the children were very excited, maybe even more so than the last time, since they had practised their display together with Ginny and the Weasley twins, who had just returned from their second Hogwarts year three days ago.

Instead of just stepping through the fireplace like Cillian used to do to travel to work and back, Annette and Molly decided to take the children to the Leaky Cauldron and walk from there in order to pass some time and maybe calm the excited little wizards and witches before their display of magic.

HP

Unfortunately, by the time their reached the university, Harry noticed that he could barely breathe and felt extremely unwell. Knowing instinctively that it was too bad to hide it, he pulled Annette aside and whispered, "Mum, I don't feel well."

Taking in his feverishly flushed face and shallow breathing, Annette quickly informed Molly, who promised to take care of David and Hermione, before she asked Flora to take Harry and her back home right away.

Back at Potter Manor, Annette made Harry lie down on the sofa in the entrance hall, before she leaned back into the fireplace and called Poppy from Hogwarts.

"I have to take him with me," Pomfrey informed the boy's adoptive mother after a few waves of her wand, promising to come back later or send Professor McGonagall to inform them about Harry's condition.

HP

In the meantime, Albus Dumbledore accessed the Muggle university, dressed in Muggle clothes and with his long beard hidden under a well-placed charm.

Sitting in the last row of the lecture room, he observed with curiosity and growing surprise how the children provided a pleasant show for the Muggle students along with some reporters and journalists of the Muggle world.

 _'The Weasley twins, the youngest Weasley girl and the two children of Professor O'Brien,'_ he thought, wondering where one Harry Potter was on this warm early summer afternoon.

 _'I've completely failed Harry,'_ he thought upon seeing Mrs. Weasley care for the children after the display together with Professor O'Brien. Even the British Prime Minister walked up to the front and shook hands with the children. _'Harry doesn't need me at all, even if he isn't with the others today. Maybe they feared that I'd come and take him back to Petunia,'_ he thought, inwardly snorting, before he apparated straight back to the gates of Hogwarts in determination.

By the time he reached the school, determined to inform his deputy about his retirement at a much earlier time than originally intended, he could neither find Minerva nor Severus, and none of them attended dinner either.

 _'I wonder what happened,'_ he thought in confusion, realising in surprise that Fawkes had a visitor. It was a very colourful phoenix, and he had to admit to himself that it was the most beautiful bird which he had ever seen.

HP

It was much later the same evening, when everyone at Potter Manor including the best friends of the current inhabitants, the Weasleys, was sitting in the dining room without even touching their dinner, worrying about Harry, when Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall brought Harry back home along with a couple of strange looking devices.

"In fact, I'd prefer to keep him at Hogwarts, however, I don't trust the headmaster to stay away from Harry, and I'll be able to watch each of these devices through a charm, which will alert me if I'm needed," the healer informed the large family, before she instructed Annette in detail what each of the family members could do to help Harry."

"We'll both return in the morning," McGonagall announced. "Not only because of Harry, but I have something important to discuss with you," she added with a small smile playing on her lips.

"My wife and I won't be here, since we have to work," Mr. Granger spoke up, sounding apologetic.

"That's fine," McGonagall replied, gently.

"I already told them that I'd stay at home tomorrow because of Harry," Cillian reassured the professor.

"I wonder what she wants to speak about," Hermione whispered to David, as they ran upstairs to keep Harry company. "I just hope they won't tell us that Harry can't attend Hogwarts because of the headmaster."

"If so, I won't go either," David replied in a firm voice.

"Nor will I," Hermione agreed, smiling.

HP

However, for once, Harry was not the main topic of the conversation. When Professor McGonagall returned to Potter Manor in the morning, closely followed by Madam Pomfrey, who strode straight to Harry's room, she asked Annette to call Mrs. Weasley over. Surprised, everyone gathered in the dining room, and under Lily's and James' watchful eyes, McGonagall explained her plan.

"Madam Pomfrey told me yesterday afternoon that Harry's condition is not good enough for him to reside in a dormitory, especially since most of the houses afford climbing a lot of staircases," she began, causing Hermione and David to stare at her in shock.

"Therefore," the professor continued, absentmindedly nodding when Pomfrey entered the room and took a seat, "I've been thinking about what to do. Professor Dumbledore informed me last night that he's going to retire at the end of the school year, so that I'm going to become the new headmistress."

"Congratulations, Professor," Hermione blurted out, smiling.

"Thank you dear," McGonagall replied, returning a rare smile. "I believe that it would be for the best if someone of Harry's enlarged family here became a teacher at Hogwarts and would take him in, so that he at least wouldn't have to live in the hospital wing."

"I believe that would be the best," Molly Weasley spoke up, warmly. "However, since Ginny will only turn eleven next year, I won't be able to help I'm afraid."

McGonagall smirked. "In fact," she continued to reveal her plan, "I've thought of positions for each of you. As to Ginevra," she turned to Mrs. Weasley, "as far as I know, she has been attending lessons here together with everyone else, so that I believe that she'd be well able to follow the first year class right away, provided that she'd be comfortable with it."

"I'd love that," Ginny threw in. "Oh please, Mum, let me attend classes together with David, Harry, Hermione and Ron."

"What I was going to offer," McGonagall spoke again, "is the position of the Muggle studies professor to Annette, the Defence Against the Dark Arts position to Sirius, the Transfiguration professor's position to Remus, and the Charms position to Molly, since Professor Flitwick would like to become the professor for History of Magic instead." She leaned back in her seat and let her eyes wander around the room in clear expectation.

"Minerva," Lily was the first to speak up, "I believe that these are very fitting positions for each of the adults here, and with my son's enlarged family living at Hogwarts, I'm certain that he'll be safe and sound at the school. Thank you very much dear. I really appreciate your consideration."

"You don't have to decide now," McGonagall added. "Just please keep my offer in mind and inform me of your decisions as soon as possible."

"I accept. Thank you, Minnie," Sirius replied, grinning.

"Me too, if my furry problem is not a hindrance," Remus added, readily.

"I have to confer with my husband before promising anything," Molly spoke up, pensively, "however, I'd love to teach Charms at Hogwarts."

Annette looked uncertainly from the professor to the children. "If you deem me adequate to fulfil the position, I gladly accept," she finally said, having seen Hermione and David as well as Cillian nod eagerly.

"Very well then," McGonagall replied, smiling. "Thank you very much for accepting. I will then see to it that Ginny receives her Hogwarts letter together with everyone else," she promised, before she returned to Hogwarts together with Pomfrey.

HP

Everyone seemed happy with Professor McGonagall's offer, apart from Ronald Weasley, who muttered something about "Special treatment for some people."

"Shut up, Ronald," Hermione and Ginny scolded the boy, immediately. "Do you always have to be jealous of everyone and everything?" Ginny added, glaring at her brother.

"There's a reason for everything," David added, rolling his eyes at the other boy.

"I'll go and check on Harry," Hermione added, shaking her head in annoyance, as she climbed upstairs to tell her best friend the good news about Dumbledore's retirement and McGonagall's plans.

When she entered Harry's room, she could not help smiling upon seeing that Harry was cuddling with a stuffed green dragon. Even though Harry possessed a brown teddy bear, the same as his twin brother, she had never seen the boy actually cuddle with it.

"What's this?" she asked in amusement, causing Harry to blush.

"Madam Pomfrey gave it to me," he explained. "It has an inhaler inside, which can help me when I have breathing problems again, but the dragon also has the effect of cooling my skin," he added, handing out his dragon to the girl.

"Oh, that's amazing," Hermione replied, feeling the soft yet cool skin of the toy. "I really love magic," she added, before she explained about all the changes that were going to take place at Hogwarts during the next few months.

"Everyone is going to work at Hogwarts?" Harry asked in apparent delight, "Except for your parents and Cillian? Oh well apart from those who already work elsewhere."

"I don't know if my parents are going to remain here," Hermione said, pensively. "They're probably going to return home and only come back here, when we're all going to be here during the Christmas and summer holidays."

"Well, they can do as they please," Harry replied. "Maybe Cillian can stay with us at Hogwarts, so he won't be alone here," he added, grinning.

"I hope that we're going to be sorted into the same house," Hermione suddenly remembered. "If not, it would be horrible."

"Well, since we have our parents at Hogwarts, we can always meet at home, and if I have to stay at home anyway, maybe you and David will be allowed the same," Harry replied, thoughtfully.

"I don't have my parents there," Hermione objected, looking sadly at the boy.

"Isn't Annette something like your second mother anyway?" Harry asked, seemingly surprised, before he added, "Your mum is definitely like another mother to me."

"Yes, that's true," Hermione had to admit, suddenly not feeling left out at the thought of not having her parents at Hogwarts anymore.

"I can't wait to finally get my Hogwarts letter," Harry said, sighing. "I hope we'll get it at our birthday like you and Ron did."

"Sure," Hermione replied, smiling.

However, before the twins' birthday, something happened that pushed the thought about their Hogwarts letters at the far back of their minds.

 _tbc..._


	12. Chapter 12

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

On Saturday evening, Buckbean stepped out of the fireplace at Potter Manor to speak with the enlarged family.

"Before the children begin attending Hogwarts, I wish to tell you something that the goblins know about Harry," he spoke up, glancing at the boy, who had just barely recovered from his latest illness.

Seeing that everyone looked at him with interest, he told the surprised families about the prophecy as well as about the Horcruxes in detail. "We need to find and destroy them all, otherwise, Harry will have to kill the maniac at least seven times," he added, sighing, promising at the same time that the goblins were doing research about the matter.

"We knew about the prophecy," James threw in, "and apparently Voldemort, too. That's why he went after us."

"Harry," Lily spoke up in a firm voice. "I might have told you before, but I'm a Seer. Please take me with you to Hogwarts in the small photo frame. Maybe if I'm at Hogwarts, I'll be able to get visions, so that I can warn you about occurrences in advance."

"We'd love to take a larger photo frame than that with us and have you both in our rooms at Hogwarts if possible," Cillian replied, smiling, causing everyone to agree immediately.

"Will we be able to live all together like here?" Harry spoke up in a small voice, somehow feeling slightly uncertain about staying at the school overnight, although he knew that he could be lucky to have most members of his large family move to Hogwarts together with him.

"I suppose that all teachers are going to have their own quarters," Molly Wasley replied, pensively, "however, no one can forbid us to meet, for example, in your parents' rooms every evening."

"Yes, let's do that," Sirius agreed, immediately, grinning at Remus. "Moony, we're going to have so much fun at the castle," he added, pleasantly.

Harry and David chuckled in anticipation, while Hermione rolled her eyes in clear annoyance, however, unable to hide a small grin that crept onto her face.

HP

The time until the beginning of school on the first of September passed much too slow in the children's opinion. All the new teachers had to move to the school by the end of July, however, Hermione, Harry and David decided to remain at Potter Manor together with the Grangers and Cillian as well as the portrait of Lily and James during the remaining weeks of the holidays.

HP

On the big day, Cillian accompanied the children to King's Cross, where Mr. Weasley, who was already waiting for them together with his children, showed them the way to platform nine and three quarters.

"A red steam engine..."

"... It really looks like our toy train," David and Harry blurted out in excitement.

"That's true," Hermione replied, chuckling at the memory of how many hours they had played with the train sending animals from Hogsmeade to London and back.

Together with the Weasley twins, the five first-years boarded the Hogwarts Express, glad that they found a compartment together.

"We're already third years and big students," the twins told them, causing Hermione to let out a snort, while Harry and Daniel stared at their friends in amazement.

"So that means that you're going to stop playing pranks on people all the time?" Hermione asked, incredulously.

"Oh please don't..."

"... We're looking forward to the pranks you play at school," David and Harry threw in, quickly.

"With those pranksters, we're definitely going to have some fun," Ginny added, casting her favourite brothers a proud look.

 _'I just hope that we're going to be sorted into the same house,'_ Harry thought, even knowing that he was going to stay in his adoptive parents' quarters anyway.

HP

"Is that a giant?" Hermione whispered to Harry, when Hagrid ushered the first-years into the boats.

"No idea, but he's really large," Harry whispered back, pulling the girl into the boat, noticing contentedly that David did the same with Ginny. _'Such a pity that only four fit into a boat,'_ he thought, seeing that Ron remained on the shore muttering to himself. _'I really don't like him as much as the twins or Ginny,'_ he thought, shaking his head in annoyance.

The four first-years thoroughly enjoyed themselves, as they travelled over the lake, and once they got a good view at the castle, they just stared at the enormous walls and towers in admiration.

"Amazing," Hermione finally breathed, when they reached the castle and got off the boats.

 _'The boat ride was the best,'_ Harry thought, feeling very excited to have finally arrived at Hogwarts. Together with his family and his new classmates, he climbed up the old stone staircase, where a grumpy looking professor was waiting for them.

The professor shortly informed them about the four houses, before he told them that they were going to be sorted into their house shortly. While he was speaking, the teacher let his eyes wander over the group, and Harry had the impression as if he looked at him with clear disdain.

 _'He dislikes me,'_ he thought, sadly. _'I don't even know who he is.'_

Before he could further ponder the matter or ask David or Hermione about it, they were ushered into the Great Hall. Even if Harry had read about the Great Hall in several books, the Great Hall was nothing like he had been able to imagine even in his wildest dreams. It was just amazing.

"This is gorgeous," Hermione whispered, and Harry could only nod his full agreement.

He glanced at the head table, where his mother, his godfathers and Molly Weasley were sitting on Professor McGonagall's left side, right in front of him. While Annette smiled broadly at him, David and Hermione, Sirius gave him a thumbs up, Remus nodded, encouragingly, and the headmistress smiled as well, before she introduced Professor Snape as the deputy headmaster and motioned him to commence with the Sorting.

Harry impatiently observed the Sorting, noticing irritated that it took the Sorting Hat much longer to sort Hermione than he had needed for some of their classmates. Finally, however, he shouted into the hall, "Ravenclaw."

 _'That's unexpected,'_ Harry thought. All magical people of their enlarged family were or had been in Gryffindor, and the children had somehow believed to automatically end up in the house of the lions as well. He observed how Neville Longbottom was instantly sorted into Hufflepuff and Draco Malfoy into Slytherin as soon as the Hat made first contact with the blonde boy's hair, before the deputy headmaster finally called David.

Again it took a little longer, before David was allowed to join Hermione at the Ravenclaw table and Snape called Harry's name. Harry once more had the impression as if the teacher was glaring at him. _'He doesn't even know me,'_ he thought, as he headed forward to sit on the stool to allow the Hat to sort him.

Suddenly, a faint voice penetrated his mind. 'Oh this is difficult. What am I going to do with you?'

 _'Why is it difficult?'_ Harry wondered. 'Ravenclaw please, together with the others,' he tried to think back to the Hat.

'That sounds like Hufflepuff,' the Hat replied, 'but you'd better fit into Slytherin.'

'No, please don't,' Harry thought back, hurriedly. 'The professor seems to dislike me from the beginning.'

Without further discussion, the Hat finally shouted into the hall, "Ravenclaw."

 _'Thank Merlin,'_ Harry thought in relief, as he handed back the hat to the professor, whose expression was schooled to a blank mask this time.

From his spot between Hermione and David at the Ravenclaw table, Harry observed with interest how a few minutes later Ginny was sorted into Ravenclaw as well and her brother Ron into Gryffindor. _'Yay,'_ Harry thought, unable to hide a grin at the thought that Ginny's always jealous brother had ended up in a different house than the rest of them.

HP

The first years introduced themselves to each other, and Harry had the impression as if his classmates were all very nice. He almost regretted to not being allowed to stay in a dormitory together with everyone else and felt very much reassured when David once again confirmed that he was going to spend the nights at their parents' quarters together with him.

"Why can't you stay with us?" one of the older students enquired, giving them a curious look.

"Since Harry's uncle tried to kill him, he's having some health problems," Hermione replied on the boys' behalf, causing Harry to give her a grateful look.

He had just leaned back, inwardly sighing in relief, as everyone's attention was diverted to the next first year student, when Madam Pomfrey strode behind the Ravenclaw table. "Mr. O'Brien, please come with me for a moment," she instructed him.

"Let's go together," David whispered and rose from his chair at the same time as Harry.

Harry felt extremely grateful that not only David, but even Hermione and Ginny followed them to the hospital wing.

"Now Harry," Pomfrey told him, "this is only a small check-up to make it official that you have to stay overnight in your parents' rooms, "nothing more. Even if the headmistress is aware of the matter, some of our colleagues aren't," she explained in a soothing voice.

"Excuse me, Madame," Harry spoke up, shyly, "will David be allowed to remain at home with me?"

"That we'll need to ask Professor Flitwick," Pomfrey replied, gently, before she began to wave her wand over Harry. "He's your head of house, and I'm going to call him here in a moment."

Apparently contented with her wand waving, the healer stepped into her office and leaned into the fireplace - at least that was what Harry imagined upon hearing her speak with someone, before she returned to his side with a tiny professor in tow.

"Excuse me, sir," Hermione spoke up, sounding very interested, "are you perhaps half goblin?"

The small professor began to jump up and down on his tiny feet in obvious excitement, before he replied, "Yes, Ms... ?"

"Granger," Hermione supplied, helpfully.

"Yes, Ms. Granger, I'm half goblin. Have you ever met other goblins? Perhaps at Gringotts?"

"Yes sir, Buckbean from Gringotts is our magical guardian," Hermione replied, eagerly.

"Buckbean?" Flitwick queried in apparent surprise, before he informed the children that Buckbean was one of the most important members of the goblin world. "He's not only extremely powerful but also owns high respect in the goblin world. I'm sure he is the perfect guardian for you." Turning to Poppy, he gave her a questioning look.

"Filius," Poppy replied to his unasked question, "Harry O'Brien won't be able to participate in the Defence Against the Dark Arts class and the Flying class due to lung problems. Perhaps he'll even need to miss a few Potions classes. I'll have to speak with Severus about the matter. He also must stay overnight with his parents."

"Is there anything you can do about his problems, Poppy?" Flitwick queried, looking at Harry in apparent concern.

Pomfrey sighed and admitted that she had already checked on Harry before and informed him about his problem that was an after-effect of his uncle's attempt to kill him more than two years ago.

"Excuse me, sir, may I please be allowed to stay overnight together with my twin brother in our own room in our parents' quarters?" David spoke up, once the healer finished her explanation, giving his head of house a pleading look.

"Very well," Flitwick agreed, glancing at the girls. "You're going to sleep in your dormitories though."

"Yes sir," Hermione and Ginny replied, smiling.

"Excuse me, sir," Hermione added, "Will we be allowed to visit Harry and David in their parents' rooms then to study together? We've lived and studied together during the last two and a half years, so they're very close to us and..." She slowly trailed off, giving the professor an uncertain look.

"Of course dear," Flitwick agreed. "Just see to it that you'll be back by curfew every evening."

"Thank you sir," Hermione and Ginny replied, grinning at the boys.

"Very well, Harry, you're free to go," Pomfrey informed the boy, instructing him to come back immediately when he had any problems whatsoever. "Do you know where your parents' quarters are?" she then enquired, causing the boys to shake their heads.

An instant later, Pomfrey accompanied Harry and David to the corridor leading to the teachers' rooms, while Flitwick showed the girls the way to the Ravenclaw common room and told them the password.

HP

The twins immediately liked their parents' quarters. When they entered the rooms, they immediately found themselves in a relatively large living room that was round and built around a fireplace. In front of the fireplace was an arrangement of comfortable looking sofas and chairs for their enlarged family to fit in, and right on the wall next to the sofas, a huge photo frame covered the wall, from which Lily and James were laughing at them.

"Congratulations sons, for getting sorted into Ravenclaw," Lily spoke up first.

"You'll do well in Ravenclaw," James added. "Just don't let yourselves get discouraged by whatever Sirius might say about the matter. He's very Gryffindor."

"I guess that's why Minerva made him the head of Gryffindor," Annette added, grinning.

HP

Just a few steps from the portrait was a door, which Annette informed them was the door to their room. The twins' room was smaller than that at Potter Manor, however, almost equally nice. One wall was completely covered by a large window that allowed the view onto the grounds as well as the lake.

"Oh that's where we rode the boats," David blurted out, excitedly. "The sight onto Hogwarts was absolutely beautiful."

"Yes, it was gorgeous," Harry added, smiling, happily, before his smile turned into a huge yawn.

"And now off to bed with the two of you," Annette said, smiling proudly at the boys.

HP

When Harry woke up in the morning, he felt very excited. "David, wakey wakey, we're at Hogwarts, and today's the first day of classes," he shouted at his brother, who was awake instantly.

"Oh that's great, and I'm so glad that we're all going to have classes together," David replied and immediately crawled out of bed to get ready for breakfast.

"Will you find the way to the Great Hall, or shall I accompany you?" Annette offered, before she explained that she was only going to attend lunch and sometimes dinner in the Great Hall and would have breakfast and occasionally even dinner together with Cillian in their own small kitchen.

"We'll be fine," Harry was the first to reply.

"I guess we only have to watch where everyone else is headed," David added, grinning at Harry.

"Mum..."

"... Do you know what classes we have today?..."

"... What books should we pack?" the twins suddenly remembered to ask.

"I'm sorry dears, but I don't know that," Annette replied, glancing helplessly at Cillian.

"Leave your book bags here," Lily advised them from the portrait. "You're going to get your time tables from Professor Flitwick during breakfast and can fetch your bags afterwards."

HP

Finally, Harry and David stepped into the empty corridor in front of the teachers' rooms and decided to just walk back from where they had come the previous evening. However, even when they stepped out into the larger halls, they could not see any other students.

"Are we too early?" David asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Or too late?" Harry added, questioningly, before he suddenly gripped his head in pain.

 _tbc..._


	13. Chapter 13

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

David turned around only to realise that they seemed to be completely alone.

"Harry, what's wrong?" he hissed, urgently. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Harry mumbled and slowly walked on, still gripping his head.

To their relief, they finally heard voices and other students showed up from behind them, so that they could simply follow them to the Great Hall.

When they finally entered the Great Hall, realising that it was not far and on the same floor as their parents' quarters, Harry noticed in surprise that his headache vanished as sudden as it had begun. _'Strange,'_ he thought, as he lowered himself into the empty seat next to Hermione, while David chose the spot on Ginny's other side.

"I missed you," Hermione whispered, barely audibly. "I wonder if there's a way that we can communicate while you're at home and we in Ravenclaw."

"Yes, that's true," Harry agreed, however, admitted that he and David had retired to bed right away last night. "I didn't even notice that the others joined our parents after curfew," he added, pensively. "I was already fast asleep."

"Well, maybe we can search the library or ask Professor Flitwick or Mrs. Weasley for such a spell or charm," Hermione resolved, before she turned her attention to her breakfast.

Harry happily let his eyes wander around the Great Hall, smiling upon noticing that Sirius, Remus, Mrs. Weasley and Madam Pomfrey smiled at him from the high table. _'I'm really happy that they're all at Hogwarts, especially Annette, Sirius and Remus,'_ he thought. _'Maybe I should go and thank Professor McGonagall at the next opportunity.'_

"Harry, eat your breakfast," Hermione suddenly interrupted his string of thoughts.

Harry cast her an irritated look but obediently buttered a piece of toast and absentmindedly began to eat. _'I wonder why my head hurt out in the halls earlier,'_ he thought. _'I feel absolutely fine.'_

Finally, Professor Flitwick distributed the time tables. "We have Potions first," Hermione said, eagerly, just when Professor Snape strode by the Ravenclaw table.

"Mr. O'Brien, a word please," the professor spoke as he walked by, his robes billowing behind him, only to add, "Harry O'Brien."

 _'What does he want?_ ' Harry thought, horrified, recalling that the deputy headmaster had cast him menacing looks throughout and even before the welcoming feast.

"Go," Hermione urged him, "or you'll be in trouble. He's the Potions professor anyway. He'll surely take you to the classroom afterwards."

Like in a daze, Harry rose from his chair and followed the professor into a small side chamber of the Great Hall. Closing the door behind himself, he gave the teacher an uncertain look.

"Yes sir?" he asked, tentatively.

HP

Severus inwardly sighed, while his mind went haywire, not only recalling the events of the previous evening but also those of his own fifth Hogwarts year.

 ** _Flashback: The previous evening_**

Severus strode into the hospital wing, wondering what Poppy might want on the first evening of the school year. _'Classes haven't even begun yet,'_ he thought, shaking his head in annoyance.

"Thank you for coming, Severus," Poppy spoke up, smiling at him. "I need to speak with you about one of the first years, Harry O'Brien," she added, causing Severus to groan.

"Potter," he spat, groaning. "Our new celebrity."

Ignoring his outburst, Poppy informed him about the boy's illness. "First of all, he might be late for your class, as he is not able to run or climb stairs in a fast speed."

"Poppy, the Potions classroom is in the dungeons," Severus couldn't help throwing in, causing Poppy, who had always been his best friend apart from Minerva, to glare at him.

"I'm fully aware of the fact," she replied, firmly, "and I know that it is more likely that he'll be late for other classes than yours, nevertheless, I wish to make it clear that you mustn't take house points if he happens to be late and I must emphasize that you can't keep him back after your class for any reason, except for when your Potions class takes place during the last afternoon class."

"Like his father," Severus blurted out, feeling very upset. "He also thought that Hogwarts belonged to him and that he could do what he wanted. I'm not going to tolerate such behaviour, not even from a 'Potter'," he added, spatting the name.

"Severus, please behave yourself," he was immediately scolded, however, it was not Poppy's voice.

He wearily looked around the office, when he suddenly got the impression as if his heart was going to stop beating. He stared at the portrait of Helga Hufflepuff in shock upon realising that no other than Lily Potter was looking down at him from the photo frame.

"Lily," he breathed.

"Yes Severus, I'm at Hogwarts now," Lily replied in a soft voice. "The O'Briens were so kind and brought James and me with them when they moved here, and Poppy called me here to witness your conversation. I hope you'll remember that Harry is my son as well and I expect that you treat him accordingly," she added, firmly, giving her former best friend a sharp look. "Otherwise, I'll make sure to inform Sirius about the matter."

"Of course," Severus promised, thinking, _'If he'd just didn't look so much like Potter.'_

Turning back to Poppy, he asked with a slight hint of impatience, "Was that all? If so..."

"No," Poppy quickly interrupted him. "Due to his illness, I believe that he has to be exempt from Potions classes that might be dangerous for his breathing apparatus.

"There are no dangerous gases or fumes in first year potions," Severus replied, thoughtfully, "provided that we don't have one or more complete dunderheads in the class."

"Well, please consider Harry's condition before each class and exempt him if necessary," Poppy said, strictly.

"Harry, is very interested and also adept at Potions, which I know because I've taught him and his sibling and friends myself," Lily spoke up from her portrait. "If he misses a class, he'll be willing to make it up by, for example, assisting you in the lab. He has been mistreated by Petunia for seven years, so please don't take it out at him that he looks like James."

"Exactly," Poppy added. "He's a very nice boy. Please get to know him. He's also exempt from Defence and Flying classes by the way, so it's not only Potions," Poppy continued in a strict voice, before she dismissed him.

 ** _End of flashback_**

"Mr. O'Brien," the Potions Master finally spoke up in a neutral voice.

"Yes sir," Harry replied, looking at the professor in surprise. _'Why do I have to be singled out, especially before the first class has not even begun?'_ he thought, uncomfortably.

To his surprise, the professor was very friendly, as he told him about his conversation with the healer.

"Usually, there are no dangerous fumes in first year classes," the professor finally said. "However, if there's a real dunderhead in your class, there might be dangers which I'm able to foresee but you aren't. Therefore, I must insist that you always follow my instructions, immediately and without questioning. Otherwise, I can't allow you to participate in my class."

Harry stared at the professor in shock. "Ah no sir, please let me attend Potions. I really like to brew, and I've been looking forward to your class for years. I promise that I'll listen, sir."

"Very well," Snape said, nodding contentedly. "Come on then, the first morning class is going to commence in ten minutes."

Together, they left the small room and crossed the now empty hall.

 _'Snape is much nicer than my impression was last night,'_ Harry thought, as he tried in vain to keep up with the professor's fast space. Nevertheless, by the time he reached the dungeons, Snape had only just opened the classroom door and he was well on time to enter the classroom with everyone else. He quickly slipped into the empty seat next to Hermione, relieved when David sat on his other side.

HP

The professor did not explain much but merely held a short monologue about the fine art of brewing potions, before he made the recipe of an easy healing potion appear on the board and instructed the students to brew.

 _'Thank Merlin Mum taught us so much,'_ Harry thought, _'otherwise, I wouldn't have a clue what to do with the ingredients.'_

He brewed his potion with a smile on his face, really enjoying himself, especially as he knew that David also liked to brew potions. A small glance at his brother told him that the boy's potion had the correct colour.

In all other subjects, David was a bit slower than Harry, Hermione and Ginny, because his magic was not as strong as the others'. However, the brewing of potions usually did not afford much magic if any at all, so that he was well able to cope with the others. Madam Pomfrey had told him that there was a slight chance that his magic would always be behind that of his brother and friends, because he had only inherited the magic from Harry at the age of eight and not from birth onwards, however, that it was possible that his magic would well catch up by the time when he was going to reach his magical majority at the age of sixteen.

HP

"Snape was very tame today, considering what the twins used to tell us about their Potions classes," Ginny spoke up on the way to the Transfiguration classroom for their second morning class.

"Maybe that's because this was the Ravenclaw - Hufflepuff class and not the Gryffindor - Slytherin one?" Hermione queried, causing Ginny to shrug.

"Oh well, he was not overly nice though," Harry threw in, recalling how the professor had shouted at Neville, one of the Hufflepuff first years, after his cauldron exploded in the middle of the class.

HP

Transfiguration with Remus and Charms with Molly were nice but very easy for the four children, who had already absolved two years of intense training at Potter Manor.

"Potions was the best," Harry whispered to the others on their way to the Great Hall at lunch time, smiling, when his brother and the two girls agreed unconditionally.

"The only really good thing is that we earned lots of house points for Ravenclaw," Hermione added, smiling.

HP

History of Magic in the afternoon turned out to be much better than anticipated from the twins' tales. _'Oh well, that's probably because Professor Flitwick is teaching it now instead of the ghost the twins told us about,'_ Harry thought as he listened with interest to the half goblin's explanations about the founders of Hogwarts.

HP

After the last afternoon class, Harry, David, Hermione and Ginny met in the O'Briens' quarters to study together, and they almost managed to complete their homework before dinner.

"Perhaps we should study in the common room during this hour and only study at home in the evenings," Harry suggested, when they left their room on time for dinner.

"That would be better, before our housemates think we don't want to have anything to do with them," Hermione replied, pensively. "Are you able to go to the common room without problems though?" she asked, giving Harry a sharp look.

"Sure," Harry replied, shrugging, "especially when I've time enough, and downstairs isn't a problem anyway."

"Very well then, let's do so from tomorrow onwards," Ginny said, before she added, "I wonder how Ron's doing in Gryffindor. He must feel very alone without us."

Harry inwardly sighed, thinking, _'I don't think he was very fond of us though,'_. However, he knew better than to voice his thoughts.

HP

It was late in the evening, when everyone at the O'Briens' quarters had already retired to bed that Harry woke up from a voice whispering, "Come, follow me. I must show you something."

Harry sat up in confusion. However, the voice continued to whisper. "Who are you? Show yourself!" he demanded, however, there was no reply.

A small movement from David's side of the room alerted him to the fact that his brother was awake as well.

"David, can you hear that voice?" Harry asked, feeling slightly anxious.

"Yes, it tells me to follow it," David replied. "Let's go and see what it wants."

 _tbc..._


	14. Chapter 14

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

The two boys stole themselves through the living room, glad that Lily and James seemed to be fast asleep in their portrait, and stepped out into the empty hall.

The voice, to which no human body seemed to belong, guided the twins through the deserted corridors that were only sparsely lit by the light of the full moon. They passed the hospital wing, before the corridor ended in front of a painting. Actually, it was a life size portrait of what they recognised as the four founders of Hogwarts.

"Welcome to the founders' lair," the voice finally said and motioned them to step though the opening that revealed itself in front of the boys, when Helga leaned back into Salazar's arms and Rowena into Godric's, making a small passage appear between the two ladies.

 _'I hope this isn't a trap,'_ Harry thought, as he hesitantly followed his brother through the opening, noticing, uncomfortably, that it closed automatically, as soon as they had passed it.

The two boys found themselves in a cosy looking room. Behind themselves was the large portrait of the four founders, and, whilst both sides were occupied with a lot of small doors, each of them equipped with a portrait, the wall in front of them was completely white, void of any decoration whatsoever.

"Welcome to our lair," one of the founders spoke up, making the boys turn around quickly. "I'm Rowena Ravenclaw, the founder of your house," she continued, before she introduced, "Godric Gryffindor, our headmaster and my husband, Helga Hufflepuff, our healer, and her husband, Salazar Slytherin, our Potions Master."

"Thank you for following our invitation," Godric spoke up, smiling at the boys, before he motioned themselves to take a seat on one of the sofas that were occupying the centre of the room.

"Excuse me, sir, but why us?" David was the first to get a grip on himself and speak up, before the boys hesitantly sat on the edge of a comfortably looking sofa.

"You are the heirs of all of us," Godric informed them, only to add, "and we care a lot about our heirs."

"The heirs?" Harry blurted out in disbelief.

"But my parents are Muggles," David added.

"In fact, Harry is the first heir of all of us, the heir of Godric and me though his father James' side and the heir of Helga and Salazar through his mother Lily's side," Rowena explained, patiently. "As far as we know, Harry shared his blood with you, so that you're now also our heir."

"Oh," the boys replied, simultaneously.

"Excuse me, Professor," Harry then asked, pensively, "why exactly did you call us here? Is there something that we can do for you?"

The founders chuckled, before Salazar spoke up, sounding very grumpy. "What would two first years be able to help grown up professors?"

The boys shrugged, deciding that they did not overly like Salazar.

"It's the other way round," Helga spoke up. "My friend Rowena is a Seer, and we know that we're able to help you with several matters. However," she added, glancing at Rowena, who returned a firm nod, "for us to reveal our secrets to you, you need to come here together with your betrotheds, as they will play an important role in your future."

"Our what?" David blurted out, bewildered.

"Your wives," Rowena informed them, gently.

"Eh, excuse me, Professors, but we're only eleven. We don't have wives yet," Harry replied, feeling utmost confused at the founders' request.

"Do you have girlfriends?" Salazar threw in, sounding impatient. "You just have to bond with them. They don't even have to know about the matter, but you need to be bonded, before you can bring them here."

"We don't know any girls here," David said in confusion.

"Except for Ginny and Hermione, but they're more like sisters than anything else," Harry continued, causing his brother to nod his agreement.

"How can we bond to random girls, and how do we know that this is something they'd want?" Harry queried, running a hand through his unruly hair in confusion.

"If you're too young, you'll just have to wait," Rowena finally said. "However, I believe that it's important that the four of you get to know about your destiny as soon as possible."

"Excuse me, Professor," David asked, hesitantly, "If you have seen the four of us, could you please tell us if the girls are Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley?"

Rowena did not reply, however, she smiled at the two boys, encouragingly.

"Very well then," Harry took over, "would you be willing to teach us the spell to bond them to us please?"

The founders agreed, and during the next thirty minutes, Godric and Rowena taught the boys the spell, knowing that it was complicated and more seventh year's material than first year's.

"Well, practise a lot during the day and come back here tonight or at any other time, provided that no one misses you," Godric instructed them.

"Only cast the spell at your girlfriends, when we tell you that your wand waving is adequate," Rowena added. "Otherwise, you might hurt the girls."

Harry and David nodded and thanked the founders, when Helga informed them that they only had to touch their portrait with their hands to be let in. "Your magical signature will make the portrait open," she explained.

HP

A few minutes later, David and Hurry walked back to their parents' quarters, noticing in surprise that the sky behind the lake was already getting light.

"How long have we been in the founders' lair?" David blurted out, incredulously.

"I thought it was about thirty minutes," Harry replied, likewise astonished. "Too bad that we can't tell the girls about it. Hermione would surely know what to do."

"Do you think it's them?" David asked, yawning.

"I don't know," Harry replied, feeling confused but also extremely glad to be able to go back to bed and sleep.

The next thing they knew was that their mother tried to wake them up. "David, Harry, what's wrong with you? Are you ill?" Annette asked in apparent concern.

"No, we're fine..."

"... We merely spent some hours talking during the night," they replied, recalling that the founders had told them to not speak with anyone about their visit in the founders' lair.

HP

Harry and David dragged themselves through their classes, feeling incredibly tired due to their nightly activity.

 _'I think we should speak with Hermione and Ginny about the matter,'_ Harry mused, as he allowed his thoughts to drift off during the Herbology class, _'at least with Hermione.'_

Unfortunately, his inattentiveness caused him to lose five points from Ravenclaw, and he swore to himself that it would not happen again.

HP

To the first years' surprise, the headmistress taught the Transfiguration class instead of Remus. _'Oh right, it was the night of the full moon,'_ Harry realised, resolving to visit Remus later on.

Professor McGonagall was stricter than Remus, whom Harry and David knew extremely well, so that the twins forgot quickly about being tired. Harry sighed in relief, when he managed to gain more points than those which he had lost in Herbology earlier.

HP

After the last afternoon class, Harry and David told the others that they would return home for a quick nap instead of heading to the common room.

Hermione gave them a sharp look. "Very well, sleep well and don't miss dinner," she instructed them. "I'll help you with your homework later on."

The twins returned to their own room after a short detour to visit Remus, however, with no intention of closing as much as one eye. Instead, they used their private time to discuss the matter of the founders and their request to bring their betrotheds.

"I wonder what they want to help us with anyway," David said, pensively.

"Perhaps about the matter with the prophecy," Harry replied, scrunching his forehead in thought.

"Well, if it's that, any help would be appreciated, as soon as possible," his brother added and suggested, "Shall we tell the girls about the matter tonight and see how they react?"

"We should speak with them somewhere out on the grounds," Harry agreed. "Shall we talk to them separately, I mean you with Ginny and I with Hermione, or together?" he then queried, quirking an eyebrow.

After a few more minutes of discussion, they decided to invite both girls for a walk around the lake and speak with them together.

 _'Hermione will never agree to such a thing,'_ Harry thought, when they headed to the Great Hall on time for dinner. Just when they reached the entrance hall, his scar erupted in pain, and he grabbed his forehead, horrified. However, as much as he looked around, he could not see anything out of the order. Students from all houses were just heading to the Great Hall, just like themselves.

"Are you all right?" his brother asked in concern and, seeing Harry nod, suggested, "Let's speak with the adults about this tonight. Maybe they know or can find out what causes your sudden headaches."

Glad that his headache receded as soon as he entered the Great Hall, Harry grudgingly agreed, before he turned his thoughts back to the most pressing matter for the moment.

HP

After dinner, the twins led Hermione and Ginny out onto the grounds, only to immediately return inside upon noticing the storm that had began to rage outside the castle.

Harry let out a long sigh. "We need to speak with you in private," he uttered, before a sudden idea crossed his mind. "Flora," he called his phoenix, "could you please take us somewhere within Hogwarts, where no one else will be able to find us?"

#Sure,# Flora replied, letting out a series of happy trills, before she turned her back to the children motioning them to grab her tail feathers.

Everyone complied, and an instant later, they found themselves in a very large, unknown room that someone reminded the children of the dungeons at Potter Manor. It was slightly different from the manor though, as the ground and the walls could easily be recognised as Hogwarts' stones.

"Where are we?" Hermione was the first to speak up, while the children looked around with a combination of surprise and interest.

Flora chuckled. #This is the thermal bath of Hogwarts from the time of its beginning,# the phoenix replied. #As you know, I love to take a bath, and when I was missing the swimming pool in the dungeons of Potter Manor, I asked Fawkes if there was a pool somewhere at Hogwarts. Fawkes brought me here and told me what it was. Only he and I and, according to Fawkes, sometimes house-elves come to take a bath here. No one else knows about this place. It's called the Thermae. The water is fresh and warm, you just have to explore the Thermae, as they're quite big. If you want me to take you back, call me. You can also walk, but it's quite far.#

"It's a hot bath like in Roman times," Hermione blurted out, as she eagerly began to explore the place, closely followed by the others.

The Thermae were charmed to look as if they were outside in a huge garden with trees, grass and flowers everywhere.

"This is just beautiful," Ginny spoke up in clear amazement. "Shall we take a bath?"

Harry and David exchanged a glance.

"We don't mind..."

"... as long as we can talk to you in private..."

"... We have something important to discuss."

Hermione also agreed, and the four children undressed and headed into the bath, noticing contentedly that the water held just the right temperature.

When they were all seated in the bath, Harry and David told the two girls about their nightly adventure.

"You met the founders?" Hermione blurted out in disbelief. "Do you know how much I envy you?"

The boys chuckled, however, their expressions sobered quickly, when they recalled why they were telling the girls about the adventure.

"The founders said that they'd only be able to help us..."

"... if we brought our betrothed with us," they quickly told the rest of the story, giving the girls uncertain looks.

"Ginny's only ten and I'm nearly twelve," Hermione replied, incredulously. "We don't even know how to make ourselves your betrotheds."

The twins exchanged a worried glance, before they informed the girls about the bonding spell that the founders taught them for that purpose.

Only when they finished speaking, Harry summoned the courage to look at the girls, only to be taken aback at their reaction.


	15. Chapter 15

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

While Ginny was chuckling, Hermine was smiling at Harry.

"As long as it's you, I don't mind. I couldn't imagine getting together with anyone else anyway," she said, quietly, only to add, "provided that our parents won't know about it for at least five years."

"That's true," Ginny added, still chuckling. "I'm fine with it, too. Mum would throw a fit though if she knew."

The four friends decided to comply with the founders' request as soon as Harry and David would be able to cast the bonding spell.

HP

It was a week later, after several visits to the founders' lair between the last afternoon class and dinner, that the founders finally deemed the boys' spell casting perfect enough to cast the bonding spell at their girlfriends.

In the meantime, the four friends had found out where the Thermae were situated. At the far end of an unused part of the castle, there was a staircase leading down from the first floor into a dungeon, which was not connected to the main dungeons of the castle. It only led to the Thermae, and the four children declared it their secret place at Hogwarts.

"Harry, you and Hermione go first. Ginny and I will wait outside," David decided, when they reached the antique bath.

Receiving a comforting nod from Hermione, Harry and the girl entered the room, closing the door behind themselves.

"Mione, are you sure?" Harry asked, unsurely, as he pulled his wand and pointed it at his best friend.

"Of course, Harry," Hermione replied, smiling, however, Harry could see that the smile did not really reach her eyes. "It's fine, Harry," Hermione reassured him. "It just doesn't feel well to be at someone's wand point, so please get on with it."

Harry nodded in relief and swiftly cast the spell. By the time he slid his wand back into his robe pocket, he realised that not only he suddenly felt very happy but also that he could sense that Hermione seemed to be delighted as well.

'It worked,' he heard her think and smirked, as he thought back, 'Of course it did.'

"Harry?" Hermione blurted out in disbelief. "Did you just manage to think to me?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed, before he told her that he was able to hear her thoughts as well.

"That's great," Hermione agreed, and Harry nodded, happily, just when it came into his mind that his brother and Ginny were waiting outside.

"Let's call the others in," he said and hurriedly opened the door, giving his twin an encouraging nod.

HP

The four friends decided to visit the founders as soon as they'd have finished their homework later the same day. However, when they returned to the O'Briens' quarters after dinner to work on their assignments, Sirius, Remus and Molly were already gathered in the living room and motioned them to sit down.

 _'Why?'_ Harry wondered in disbelief, knowing that the adults used to gather in his parents' living room only after curfew.

"We've spoken with our colleagues about the pain in your scar," Sirius spoke up, turning to Harry. "Snape thinks that Voldemort is not really gone and that he' the only one who can make your scar hurt, means that if your scar hurts, it might be possible that he's nearby. Maybe not, but we don't know that," he added, pensively.

"That means," Molly continued, "that you should never be alone in the halls."

"We didn't see anyone though, when it happened," David spoke up, questioningly.

"He might be under an invisibility cloak, under a notice-me-not charm, or he might even be imperceptible because of being a ghost," James threw in. "We don't know what happened to him after he vanished ten years ago."

'Why don't you tell them about your conversation with the founders?' Hermione suddenly thought to Harry, who hesitantly agreed.

"Maybe the founders know something," he spoke up in a small voice. "They've told us that they want to help us with something and that Rowena Ravenclaw is a Seer. I know Mum's a Seer too though," he added and slowly trailed off.

"Harry, where and when did you speak with the founders?" James enquired what everyone else was wondering about.

"We accidentally found the founders' lair," David explained.

"... and they told us that we're both the first heirs of all four of them," Harry continued.

"... So they told us to come to see them together with Hermione and Ginny..."

"... so that they could teach us something."

"What?" James threw in, incredulously. "We've been at Hogwarts for seven years, and you just come here and find the founders' lair?"

"I think we could only find it because we're the heir of all of them..."

"... They told us we couldn't bring anyone but the girls..."

"... It's right behind the hospital wing," the boys explained quickly.

 _'Now that's said, but we mustn't let them know about our bonding,'_ Harry thought in determination to keep the matter from the adults, especially from Molly Weasley.

"Very good, boys. Then I can only say good luck. Go and ask the founders about Voldemort. Maybe they know something or they'll be able to ask Hogwarts. She must know if he's currently here," Remus finally chose to contribute to the conversation. "We'll all help you with whatever has to be done."

The children agreed and quickly got their homework done, even if not as precisely as usually, before they headed to the founders' lair.

HP

"Voldemort is definitely inside Hogwarts," Rowena informed them thirty minutes later. "However, he's only a spirit, and I believe that he's trying to possess someone in order to finally manage to gain a corporate body. You must be very careful, Harry."

'Does he want to possess me?' Harry wondered, suddenly feeling very frightened.

'I don't think so,' Hermione replied, soothingly. 'He'll probably choose someone with a very weak magic or a fragile character. With you, he probably wouldn't have a chance to defeat you in a way that he'd be able to take over your body.'

'All right,' Harry thought back, feeling very relieved at his girlfriend's reasoning, before a sudden thought crossed his mind. _'What about David?'_ he thought, horrified. _'His magic is much weaker than mine.'_

"We'd like you to watch some of my visions," Rowena told the four children, pointing to the white wall opposite of the founders' portrait.

The four first-years made themselves comfortable on the sofa and looked at the wall that suddenly changed to a large screen, on which a scene began to play.

Harry stared at the screen in shock, realising that no others than the four of them were running through a large, old looking garden, apparently trying to not be seen by anyone. Several scenes later, they saw themselves trying to destroy a golden ring with several items, before Flora brought them something that seemed to be a sword. Only using the sword, Harry was finally able to destroy the ring. Only from observing the scenes, however, Harry instinctively knew that he and his three friends had been very anxious and uncertain about their task that seemed to be extremely dangerous.

Finally, the scenes ended and the screen changed back to the white wall.

"Let's stop here," Rowena said in a soft voice, before she explained about the Horcruxes that Voldemort had made splitting his soul in order to remain alive for as long as possible, preferably an eternity.

"We know about the Horcruxes," Hermione spoke up and told the founders what Buckbean had said about them.

"Oh, that's good if the goblins help you," Rowena said, sounding very relieved. "During the following evenings, we'll show you more scenes, so that you know what the Horcruxes are and where to find them. With that knowledge as basis, you can ask the goblins for help. Don't worry, we'll also help you as much as possible, and when we'll believe that you deserve it, we'll send you to the past to meet our real selves, who should be able to train you even more efficiently."

"We'd love to meet your real selves, Professor," Hermione replied, eagerly, "but how will we be able to gain your trust in a way...?"

"Just do as you're told," Salazar interrupted her, as grumpy as he had always been when Harry and David had met him.

"Yes sir," the four friends replied, unanimously, before they profusely thanked the founders for their help and promised to return the following evening.

HP

A few hundred miles into the south, Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his favourite armchair at Dumbledore Manor, his phoenix Fawkes perched on his knee and a bowl with lemon drops sitting on the side table next to him.

On the one hand, it felt good to not have the responsibility for several hundred students anymore, however, on the other hand, he had to admit to himself that he felt very lonely only in the company of the house-elves at Dumbledore Manor. He was still the head of the Wizengamot, however, with Voldemort gone, it was a peaceful time, and not many happenings occurred that required the Wizengamot to assemble.

 _'Since Harry's a first year now, maybe Voldemort will show up at Hogwarts, provided that my theory is true that he's still alive,'_ he thought, wondering how he might be able to interfere at Hogwarts and help Harry against his number one nemesis _. 'The magical world should know that I'm the most powerful wizard alive, and that they need me to assist Harry in finally getting rid of Voldemort.'_ He remained pensive for a long time, before he resolved to go and visit Hogwarts from time to time. _'Thank Merlin I still have James Potter's invisibility cloak, so no one will be able to see me at the school. Maybe I can even try to speak with Harry in private.'_

With that happy idea in mind, he called it a night and headed to his bedroom, accompanied by the one companion who would never leave his side - Fawkes.

HP

In one of the unused corridors of Hogwarts, Tom Riddle's spirit looked out onto the grounds, pondering his situation.

 _'Harry Potter was supposed to be at Hogwarts this year, but his name wasn't called at the Sorting. I wonder where he is. So much about trying to possess the boy and eventually kill him. Oh well, maybe I wouldn't be able to kill him let alone steal his body though, considering that he must be very powerful,'_ he then thought. _'Of course, it's the most important thing that I manage to gain a corporate body, however, I can't just go and possess a random student,'_ he mused. _'It might be it's a really stupid Hufflepuff, and everyone would ridicule me for the rest of my life.'_

He finally decided to do some more research before acting. _'If I can't get to possess Potter, I'll at least want someone adequate,'_ he resolved and made his way to the library, hoping to get a glimpse at the Daily Prophet, hoping to be wiser afterwards.

Hours later, he returned to the solace of his favourite unused corridor, feverishly pondering what to do. _'Arthur Weasley is the Minister of Magic,'_ he had just learned from the newspaper, _'and he has several sons at Hogwarts. I'll watch them for a few days, before I choose one to possess. They're all Gryffindors, stupid but not unintelligent, maybe just what I need.'_

HP

During the following days, Harry couldn't help feeling as if his scar hurt more often than it had hurt during the first days at the castle. _'I wonder where Voldemort is and what he's doing,'_ he thought, feeling very concerned for his brother and even for his girlfriend, even if he reassured himself that Voldemort surely would not try to possess a girl.

Every evening, the founders showed the four first-years more scenes of them finding and trying to destroy Horcruxes, and after a few hours of watching horrible scenes, the children decided to speak with the adults of their enlarged family.

"We need a Pensieve," Sirius blurted out, turning to James. "James, did you not possess a Pensieve?"

"Yes, but when Lily told me that we were going to die, I gave it to Dumbledore," James replied, sighing, "along with the invisibility cloak. I asked him to give both to Harry when he would be coming to Hogwarts."

"Which he didn't," Sirius growled, "the old coot."

"I'll go and ask Minerva if she is willing to ask him about it," Molly offered and, seeing everyone nod their agreement, stepped into the fireplace.

HP

At the same time, Tom Riddle AKA Lord Voldemort decided to pull through with the stunt that he had planned carefully. He knew that the Gryffindors were just having Quidditch tryouts, and that Ronald Weasley should soon be going to come inside.

 _'As soon as he comes through the entrance door, I'll attack and possess him,'_ he resolved and waited impatiently for the redhead to appear, glad that the boy was easy to recognise with his red hair.

He had pondered his plan for a few days, and to him it seemed absolutely fool proof. Even considering all precautions, he had not been able to imagine what could go wrong before it happened.

 _tbc..._


	16. Chapter 16

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

Tom Riddle impatiently lingered in the entrance hall, waiting for the Weasley boy to come through the large doors. In the meantime, he pondered just how he'd be able to take over the boy's body in order to claim it for himself. _'I'll just make the boy do something stupid,'_ he resolved. _'I'll distract him when he's flying, so that he crashes into the ground injuring himself. Then it won't be a problem for me to overcome him.'_

All of a sudden, the entrance doors opened and a group of Gryffindor Quidditch players entered the entrance hall. The long awaited boy slowly followed them in apparent disappointment.

 _'Now,'_ Voldemort thought and summoned his magic, before he moved into the right direction ready to possess the boy, when the caretaker stepped into the way shouting at the boy for making such a mess in the entrance hall.

Too late did Tom realise what was happening, and his spirit settled into the back of the old Squib's head. Against reason, he attempted to get out instantly, however, it was already too late, and he felt himself being trapped.

 _'He doesn't even have magic,'_ he thought, feeling disgusted and horrified at the same time.

HP

Harry suddenly gripped his forehead in pain.

"What's wrong?" Hermione and David asked, simultaneously, staring at the boy in obvious concern.

"His spirit can't be here now, can it?" Ginny added, looking from Harry to Rowena.

"He's very angry, muttering something about his plan failed and being trapped without magic," Harry said in confusion, rubbing his forehead in a faint attempt to get relief from the pain.

"I think he just managed to possess someone," Rowena finally spoke up, pensively. "Please give me some time to think about how to proceed. If you have any chance to speak with your goblin guardian, tell him about the Horcruxes. You need to get rid of them, before you can kill him for good."

HP

At the same time, Minerva McGonagall leaned into the fireplace to call her old friend, Albus Dumbledore.

"Ah Minerva, how nice of you to call an old man," he greeted her, causing her to inwardly groan.

"This is not a social call, Albus," she replied in a crisp voice, before she explained that Harry Potter wished to have his Pensieve and his invisibility cloak returned to him.

"Ah Minerva, but consider how much the boy would be able to get into trouble if he used the cloak at Hogwarts," the old wizard replied in his grandfatherly voice, which he sometimes used in front of students. "I intend to give both to him once he becomes an adult in the wizarding world," Albus then promised.

Neither pleading nor threatening was going to help if the old coot had decided on something - that was one fact, which Minerva knew better than she wanted to know. She ended the floo call in resignation.

Sighing, she left her office and made her way to the O'Briens' quarters, deciding to enjoy an hour of conversation with some of her favourite colleagues.

HP

None of her colleagues were pleased with Dumbledore's reaction to say the least, and a heated discussion about whom to contact developed. While Sirius thought it would be best to speak with Mr. Weasley as the Minister of Magic, James advised him to rather contact the Aurors, and Cillian thought they should speak with Buckbean and let the goblin advise them how to proceed in the matter.

Everyone finally settled on Cillian's suggestion, and the professor leaned into the fireplace to ask the goblin if he could come over for a few minutes.

"Of course," Buckbean replied and, without letting his customers know that his fireplace was diverted to his private home at this time of the evening, he stepped through the fireplace into the O'Briens' quarters at Hogwarts.

As usually, the goblin listened patiently, while Cillian told him about the two items that were in Dumbledore's possession but originally belonged to his son.

"He said he'd return them when Harry was of age," Annette added to her husband's explanation. "However, Harry needs the Pensieve now to show you some visions from Rowena Ravenclaw."

"Harry is already of age in the magical world," Buckbean replied, pensively. "Maybe Dumbledore is just not aware of the matter. I'll let him know and require that he returns both items within a week," he promised, smiling at the O'Briens.

"Excuse me, sir," Sirius spoke up, frowning. "What does it mean Harry is of age? My godson is eleven, and as far as I know, he has to be seventeen to be of age in the British magical world."

"Exactly," some of the others agreed, and the whole group cast questioning looks at the goblin.

"I'd need to fetch Harry's file to inform you about the exact details, but I'm fairly sure that both of your sons are of age already due to their betrothals," Buckbean slowly replied, offering to fetch Harry's and David's files.

"No, that's all right for now," Cillian replied. "We'll just ask the boys."

"I shall speak with Dumbledore," Buckbean promised. "If necessary, Harry should just give me his signature on a parchment in order to claim the official status as Lord Potter. That would automatically make Hermione Lady Potter." With that, Buckbean was just about to step back into the fireplace, when Harry and David entered the room on time for curfew.

"Will you please remain for a few more minutes?" Molly whispered to him, and Buckbean readily agreed.

"David and Harry, is there anything that you have to tell us?" Annette spoke up, giving her sons a sharp look.

"Yes..."

"... Voldemort managed to possess someone..."

"... here at Hogwarts..."

"... but we don't know whom," the twins explained, wearing grave expressions.

"How do you know that?" Sirius asked, sharply, making the boys explain what had happened, while they were in the founders' lair.

"We don't need a Pensieve to watch your memories," Buckbean spoke into the silence that came up after the boys were finished with their explanation. "The goblins have something similar. I need you to come to my office for this though."

"Minerva," Sirius turned to the headmistress, "will you give me the permission to take Harry and David to Gringotts in the morning?"

To Harry's relief, the headmistress immediately nodded her agreement. _'Oh well, it's Saturday anyway,'_ he thought, eager to get the matter with the Horcruxes resolved.

HP

In the morning, Sirius, Cillian, Annette and Molly accompanied Harry, David, Hermione and Ginny to Gringotts. Buckbean made them put their memories of Rowena's visions into a device similar to a Pensieve that, however, made the scenes float over a large screen that was equipped to one of the walls like in the founders' lair. Together with five other goblins, they watched the scenes, before Buckbean promised that the goblins would do their best to destroy everything as soon as possible.

Afterwards, Buckbean skimmed Harry's folder, before he spoke up in a stern voice. "I suggest that Harry officially claims the name Lord Potter. It will give him more power and influence, which he might need in his fight against Voldemort and maybe even against Albus Dumbledore, although I'm not sure if Dumbledore is evil or not."

"Will everyone know if I claim the title?" Harry spoke up, hesitating.

"Yes," Buckbean confirmed. "Even if you keep your name as Harry O'Brien and don't openly announce the matter, the fact that you're Lord Potter will be visible to everyone in the magical world, provided that people look for the information.

"Excuse me, Buckbean, what about my brother?" Harry then asked. "He shares my blood, so will he be a Lord Potter as well?"

Buckbean shook his head in denial. "No, Harry. Only you will be Lord Potter as the heir of the Potter family, and your wife will be Lady Potter. However, you can officially add your brother to your family. He and his betrothed will then be under your protection as members of the Potter family," he explained.

'Would you mind me accepting the title?' Harry thought to Hermione, who sent a comforting thought back.

'If you accept the title, it'll probably give us the permission to do wand magic outside of the school,' she added.

'But we've always done that already,' Harry replied in surprise.

'But now that our wands are registered with us entering Hogwarts, we won't be allowed to cast spells out of school anymore, except if we officially declare us as adults.'

"Yes please, Buckbean," Harry said aloud, giving David a questioning look as he spoke.

"Yes please, Harry," David replied, reaching for Ginny's hand.

"Excuse me, sir, but is this a matter for the children to decide and not for the parents?" Cillian enquired, seemingly surprised.

Molly gently laid her hand on his arm. "They're already being treated as adults, because of their betrothal. Please believe me when I tell you that I'd liked to have known about this beforehand, too... Although I appreciate that my daughter chose a fine boy like David," she added, smiling.

"Yes, I couldn't be happier for my boys to have Ginny and Hermione as their wives," Annette added, "even if it was very sudden and they're much too young in my opinion."

"We're very sorry for not informing you about the matter in advance," Harry spoke up and shortly explained the circumstances that had led to the bond between the twins and their partners.

HP

When the enlarged family left Gringotts, Harry was officially the head of the Potter house, and not only Hermione, but also David and Ginny were members of the Potter family. While one after another of their enlarged family stepped into the fireplace to travel back to Hogwarts, Harry unobtrusively kept David, Annette and Sirius back.

"Mum, could I perhaps quickly go to Diagon Alley with Sirius?" he asked, giving his mother and his godfather a pleading look. "I'd like to buy a ring for Hermione, and maybe David would like to do the same for Ginny."

To Harry's relief, Annette and Sirius agreed immediately, and David was all for it. Three minutes later, Sirius and his two godsons found themselves in the shopping street. To the boy's surprise, Sirius led them out of Diagon Alley into a small side street, from where they turned right into another small street, then left, and on the right hand side was a very small jeweller's shop.

"Eh, Sirius..."

"... how did you know such a place?" the twins asked, staring at the older wizard.

Sirius chuckled, as he admitted, "I was here with James, when he bought his promise ring for Lily. They're not well known, and they don't have much of a choice, but they have exquisite items, which are beautiful. Let's have a look."

The boys curiously inspected the shop, before Harry let out an uncharacteristic gasp.

"Look," he said to David, pointing to a couple of rings. They were made from silver with gold coating, and each of them had a pattern of tiny animals made from diamonds in different colours.

"They're fantastic," David agreed, and after pondering which rings would be the best, David took two rings with three orange kittens, two blue birds and a white dog, thinking that the blue would remind themselves of his eyes and the orange of Ginny's hair.

Harry chose the equivalent rings with three green birds, two brown kittens and a black dog, matching the colours of Hermione's and his eyes and hair.

"Can you please add all possible safety charms for Lord Potter and his brother?" Sirius asked the shopkeeper, who reassured them that it was possible, giving the two boys an amazed look.

HP

Twenty minutes later, they found themselves outside the shop and slowly but happily walked back towards the Leaky Cauldron to return to Hogwarts from there.

'Mione, we're going to be back at Hogwarts in five minutes. Shall we meet at the Thermae?' Harry thought to Hermione, as they walked in front of Gringotts.

'Ginny and I are still in your parents' living room waiting for you,' Hermione replied, immediately.

'Ah, all right,' Harry thought back, thinking of his betrothed, when all of a sudden, someone stepped into his way.

"Harry Potter," he heard someone say and looked up, however, before he knew what happened, he suddenly felt a strange sensation and was whisked away.

 _tbc..._


	17. Chapter 17

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

When the world stopped turning around in front of his eyes, Harry found himself in what seemed to be a large office, similar to the one at Potter Manor. However, he was not at Potter Manor. He was at an unknown place, and a very old wizard was standing in front of him.

"Harry," the old man spoke up, stroking his long beard, "how nice of you to visit me."

"I'm not Harry, but Lord Potter," Harry growled, "and I did not visit you, but you abducted me."

'I think it's Dumbledore, who abducted me,' he quickly thought to Hermione, trying not to panic. 'Can you send Flora after me please?'

"Lord Potter?" Dumbledore queried in disbelief. "But Harry, you're much too young, and you might not know it, but I'm your guardian in the magical world, and you need my help for your fight with Voldemort."

"You're neither my guardian, nor do I need your assistance for Voldemort," Harry replied in a firm voice, before he grabbed Flora's tail feathers, as soon as she appeared in a bunch of small flowers and turned her back towards him.

HP

An instant later, Harry found himself back in the living room of his parents' quarters at Hogwarts.

"Thanks Flora, you're the best," he told the phoenix, before he thanked Hermione for sending the phoenix after him. With his familiar perched on his shoulder, he let himself sink onto the sofa next to her, letting out a relieved sigh.

"Harry, what happened?" Annette asked in apparent concern. "Are you completely unharmed?"

"I'm fine," Harry reassured her and quickly explained about his short visit to Dumbledore Manor.

"I'll see to it that he'll be punished for this," Sirius spoke up, seemingly upset, and headed to the fireplace to call the Minister of Magic.

HP

Argus Filch was a very unhappy man. He'd so love to be an ordinary wizard, however, his magical level had always been at two percent, which made him a Squib. Maybe things would be easier for him if he was living in the Muggle world, however, after a huge disappointment involving the love of his life, he had taken on his job in the magical world, knowing that he would never leave this world again, even if he didn't really belong to it.

One day, shortly after the beginning of the new school year, a strange sensation penetrated his head, and he had to learn that he was now possessed by a spirit. Above all, it seemed to be the spirit of one very evil wizard, who made it very clear that he definitely did not even intend to possess something unworthy like himself, a non magical person.

Argus was not stupid. He realised that the spirit must have possessed him in order to gain a new body. However, he was not suicidal and had no intention of giving up his own body. Fortunately, he noticed soon that the spirit, in spite of being magical, was not able to hurt him in any way. Therefore, his only reaction to the spirit living in his head was that he began to wear a turban to prevent people from noticing his mishap. However, he did not listen to the spirit's orders, threats and swearing.

 _'I wished the spirit would just leave,'_ he thought, however, he had comprehended by now that the spirit seemed to be unable to do so. _'Maybe I should ask Pomfrey if she can help me. She's the kindest witch of all. But what'll happen if she doesn't know what to do about it?'_ he worried and dismissed the idea of asking for help.

HP

Everyone in the castle noticed that Filch, the caretaker, suddenly developed the habit of wearing a smelly turban, and the girls could not prevent themselves from giggling at his sight.

Harry, however, realised with a combination of surprise and shock that his scar suddenly hurt every time when the caretaker was nearby.

"I think it's Filch who's possessed by Voldemort," he informed the adults of his enlarged family as well as the founders.

"As soon as the Horcruxes are destroyed, we'll teach you a spell that you can cast at Mr. Filch," Rowena promised.

However, so far, Harry had not received any further information concerning the Horcruxes from the goblins. _'I just hope that they'll be able to destroy them for us,'_ he thought, whenever he passed Filch in the corridors.

Unfortunately, it was only two months later, that he met Buckbean again, only to hear devastating news from the kind goblin.

HP

On a snowy winter evening shortly before Christmas, the headmistress called Harry and David into her office.

"Let's see what she wants. We didn't do anything that calls for punishment though," Harry said to David and Trouble, who was following them towards the headmistress' office. "Ginger rabbit," he told the password to the gargoyle that opened instantly.

"Hello Harry and David," McGonagall greeted him, friendly as usual, before she noticed the dog and added, "and Trouble."

"Our mother said you wanted to see us, Professor?" Harry queried, observing how Trouble greeted the headmistress in apparent excitement.

"Yes," McGonagall confirmed and sighed, before she explained that Professor Dumbledore was going to have a trial the next morning because of abducting Harry. "Minister Weasley has offered to accompany us to the trial, and Sirius and David will join us as witnesses. I believe that Buckbean will make an appearance as well."

"All right, Professor. Thank you very much for your help in this matter," Harry replied, knowing that the headmistress had worked together with the Minister of Magic and his godfather to get a trial for Dumbledore.

"You're very welcome dear," McGonagall replied, smiling fondly at the boys. "Please come to my office with Sirius after breakfast, so that we can travel to the Ministry together."

Together with Sirius and Professor McGonagall, the twins sat down in the court room, curiously looking around. To Harry's surprise, the room was quite full with people _. 'Why are they all interested in a trial between Dumbledore and me?'_ he wondered, hoping that they had not all come to help the former headmaster of Hogwarts.

The Minister of Magic was the first to speak and greeted everyone to the trial of Albus Dumbledore. "Albus Dumbledore is accused of abducting Lord Potter and keeping valuable treasures belonging to Lord Potter," he explained, and the journalists' quills moved over their parchments in a fast speed.

Harry was questioned first and explained how Dumbledore had taken him from Diagon Alley to what he believed had to be Dumbledore Manor and that he had not given him his invisibility cloak and Pensieve in spite of multiple requests.

David and Sirius could only confirm Harry's words, before McGonagall was questioned and told the public how Dumbledore had tried to return Harry to his abusive relatives three years ago.

"Fortunately, we could convince his new family to move and live in hiding," the headmistress added, glaring at Dumbledore.

"You knew about the matter?" Dumbledore blurted out, interrupting his former colleague. "You were my deputy at that time." Turning to the judge, he explained, using his grandfatherly voice once more, "I was only concerned about Harry's safety, which was also why I wished to speak with him in private at Dumbledore Manor the other day. Harry has always been like a grandson to me."

"Very well," the judge replied and, after asking McGonagall and the other witnesses if they had anything else to add, decided to question Dumbledore under Veritaserum.

Under Veritaserum, Dumbledore admitted that he wanted to keep Harry close, knowing that he was going to be more powerful than himself at one time. However, he also confirmed that he wished to assist Harry against Voldemort for the greater good. As to the question why he was still in the possession of the invisibility cloak and the Pensieve belonging to Lord Potter, he explained that the invisibility cloak was one of the three hallows and as such a very valuable object that he'd rather keep himself than give it to an eleven-year-old and that he was more in need of the Pensieve than a Hogwarts student in his first Hogwarts year.

After a thirty-minute break, the verdict was announced. Albus Dumbledore was deprived of his function as the head of the Wizengamot and was instructed to return Harry's items to its rightful owner and to stay away from Harry and Hogwarts. If he did not comply, he would be sent to Azkaban for a ten-year stay.

HP

Harry was just about to relax and be happy, when Buckbean stepped over to him, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Buckbean," Harry and David greeted the goblin, surprised but glad to see their magical guardian. "I was wondering where you were," Harry added.

"I was watching the trial, ready to interfere if the need arose," Buckbean replied, "but there was no need for my meddling." He gave Harry a sharp look, before he continued, "I have good and bad news for you, Lord Potter. Will I be welcome to visit with your family tonight?"

"Of course, Buckbean. You're always very welcome at our home," Harry replied, worried about what bad news the goblin was going to reveal.

"Sirius," the Minister of Magic approached the small group. "May I have a word in private please?"

"Of course," Sirius replied, seemingly astonished, before he turned to the headmistress. "Minerva, will you please take these two back to Hogwarts?"

"Of course," McGonagall replied, smiling. "We should leave quickly," she added, pointing to a small group of reporters who were heading in their direction.

 _'Oh no,'_ Harry thought and called Flora, who appeared immediately, scattering around a small bunch of flowers as usual. "Flora, can you please take Professor McGonagall, David and me back to Hogwarts?" he whispered, causing the phoenix to turn her back to them, so that they could easily grab her tail feathers.

An instant later, they were back in the O'Briens' quarters at Hogwarts.

HP

"Professor, do you think Dumbledore will leave us in peace now?" Harry queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"I hope so," McGonagall replied, crisply. "Otherwise, he'll soon find himself in Azkaban."

"What we need here is the Marauders' Map," Sirius threw in, who had just stepped out of the fireplace hearing Harry's question. Seeing the headmistress cast him a questioning look, he explained, "It's a map that displays any person at Hogwarts under their real name. We made it in our fourth and fifth year, however, unfortunately, Filch took it from us stating that it was a dangerous, magical object."

"I'll ask Mr. Filch," McGonagall promised, smiling at Sirius, who still reminded her of a big child.

"He won't know it," Sirius said, darkly. "If not activated, it's only a blank parchment. I'd really appreciate it if we could get it back in order to keep the children safe."

"I'll see to it right after lunch, which is going to commence in ten minutes," McGonagall replied and motioned everyone to accompany her to the Great Hall for lunch.

HP

At the Ravenclaw table, Harry and David explained everything about the trial to their excited girlfriends, not caring that their housemates were listening in with apparent interest.

"Wait, the Marauders' Map?" Ginny suddenly spoke up, pensively. Seeing Harry and David stare at her in expectation, she added, "I think the twins have that. They found it in Filch's office during their first year or so. Let me go and ask them."

"We really ought to get together with those twins and play some pranks," David whispered to Harry.

"Yes, that's true. We've barely ever had the chance to speak with them since we came here," Harry agreed, immediately.

A moment later, Ginny returned, handing David an empty parchment, whispering, "The Marauders' Map."

"Thanks Ginny," David said, gratefully, before he turned to Harry. "Shall we give it to Sirius?"

"Yeah, maybe that's the best," Harry replied, thoughtfully. "If he shows us how it works, we can still ask him to leave it to us for the time being."

Together, they headed to the high table to give the map to their godfather, when Harry remembered that he still had not told them what the Minister of Magic had wanted earlier.

 _tbc..._


	18. Chapter 18

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

"This is the Marauders' Map," Sirius confirmed and promised to leave it to the boys after once studying it closely.

"Sirius..."

"... by the way..."

"... what did Mr. Weasley want earlier?" the twins asked, curiously.

"Ah that," Sirius replied, chuckling. "He wanted to convince me to become the head of the Wizengamot, now that Dumbledore has been fired."

"That's great," David and Harry replied, simultaneously, staring at their godfather in surprise.

"Will you have a chance to be elected though?" Hermione asked in apparent concern, causing the boys to turn their heads in surprise.

 _'I didn't even notice that she followed us,'_ Harry thought in confusion.

"Apparently, Weasley already spoke to some people before even asking me, making sure that I have a fair chance," Sirius explained. "According to him, the only other candidate is Lucius Malfoy. However, with many people being convinced that he was a Death Eater, Mr. Weasley believes that he won't be easily elected for the position."

Since Harry and his friends did not have classes together with Draco Malfoy, they did not know the other boy well. They had only heard that Draco often got into fights with Ron Weasley. However, Harry, David and Hermione had often witnessed conversations between Sirius and James about Draco's father and other Death Eaters. Therefore, they knew that they definitely did not want that specific wizard as the head of the Wizengamot.

"Good luck, Sirius," Hermione said, warmly, making the twins nod eagerly.

HP

Right after dinner, Buckbean visited the O'Briens. "Lord Potter," he came straight to the point, "as announced this morning, I have good and bad news." He pulled two items out of his robe pocket, enlarging them before he placed them on the table - Harry's Pensieve along with the invisibility cloak.

"The good news is," he continued, looking at Harry, "that the goblins have found and destroyed all Horcruxes but one."

"Oh, thank Merlin," Harry blurted out, while everyone else let out sighs of relief.

"And the bad news, sir?" Hermione made sure to ask, eyeing the goblin in concern that through the bonding link spread over to Harry instantly.

"The bad news is," Buckbean continued, hesitating, "that we believe the last Horcrux to be hidden in Harry's head, right behind his scar."

Everyone stared from the goblin to Harry in clear shock.

"Excuse me, sir, but what exactly does this mean?" Annette enquired.

Buckbean let out a long sigh. "This means that we can't just go and kill it with a sword," he finally replied. "We've been doing some research, however, since this is a so far unheard case, nobody knows anything detailed. Most of my colleagues believe that Harry has to be killed once for the Horcrux to be destroyed. I fear, however, for the boy's safety, and right now I'm at a loss of what to do," he admitted.

"Would it make a difference if someone tried to kill Harry who owes him a life debt?" James spoke up from the portrait, causing Buckbean to turn around to view the portrait with interest.

"Several goblins voiced this opinion as well, Lord Potter," he replied, eagerly, "and his brother David owes him a life debt."

David paled visibly, mumbling, "Don't tell me I must kill Harry, cause I won't."

"Understandable," the goblin replied, gravely, before he turned to the adults. "Please give me some more time to search for a solution."

"David and Harry, you could also ask the founders. Maybe Rowena has an idea how to get rid of it," Sirius suggested, causing the boys to nod.

The twins glanced at their wrist watches, only to realise that it was already too late to go to the founders' lair, as curfew was going to commence twenty minutes later.

"Harry, shall we try the invisibility cloak?" David asked, eagerly, apparently trying to divert Harry's thoughts.

"Why not?" Harry replied and hesitantly unfolded the slightly strange fibre, before he tried it on, looking at his brother in expectation. "And? Am I invisible?" he asked, slightly impatiently.

"Of course, let me try, too," David replied, grinning.

HP

When they made a short detour to the founders' lair before breakfast the following morning, Rowena replied to their question in a grave voice.

"I'm sorry, dears, but I don't have a clue, other than someone killing Harry," she admitted, giving the boys a pitying look.

"Can you show us the exact scene, please?" Harry asked, unconsciously strengthening his grip on Hermione's hand.

"I'm sorry dears, but I didn't have a vision about that specific scene - at least not yet," Rowena replied, regrettably.

HP

A few days later, Harry and his enlarged family returned to Potter Manor for the Christmas holidays. Setting the unsettling thought of the Horcrux behind Harry's scar aside for the time being, the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves being at home again after four months at Hogwarts. They were also very happy to have their enlarged family completed with the Grangers again.

In the morning of the first day of the holidays, which was already the day before Christmas Eve, everyone travelled to Diagon Alley to buy Christmas presents. For this purpose, they divided into pairs of one or two adults and one child, as soon as they reached the magical shopping area, agreeing to meet at Flourish and Blotts two hours later.

Harry walked through Diagon Alley together with Remus and Cillian. 'Be careful,' Hermione thought to him, causing Harry to smile and think back, 'You too, Mione. I love you.'

Harry went to the jeweller's shop to see if he could find something for Hermione that matched their rings and finally found a necklace as well as ear rings, both with the same pattern that the rings had. Not able to decide, he bought both, resolving to keep one gift to give it to Hermione for her birthday.

Smiling happily, he left the shop together with the two adults and returned to the main shopping street.

Afterwards, he could neither recall nor understand how it happened, considering that his betrothal ring was supposed to be equipped with all kinds of safety charms. However, all of a sudden, Dumbledore stood in front of Harry casting the killing curse at him, before he even realised what happened, and even Remus comprehended the situation too late to protect the boy.

Seeing his son lying on the ground, unconsciously, Cillian called Flora and asked her to take Harry and him straight to the infirmary at Hogwarts, while Remus hurriedly stunned Dumbledore and sent a Patronus to Tonks, the young Auror at the Ministry of Magic.

HP

Fortunately, Harry was not dead but merely unconscious and woke up by the time they reached Hogwarts.

 _'What happened?'_ he tried to recall, as he lazily opened his eyes, glancing around in surprise upon seeing himself at the hospital wing. Only then did he realise that Hermione was frantically calling him through their connection.

'Harry, where are you? Are you all right? What happened?' she asked over and over.

'I'm fine,' Harry replied, reassuringly, glancing around.

Madam Pomfrey, Remus and Cillian were standing around his bed deeply engrossed in a conversation. _'I thought we were at Potter Manor,'_ he remembered, giving the adults a questioning look.

"Harry, Dumbledore cast the killing curse at you," Remus informed him, "but he didn't manage to kill you. We can only speculate what happened though. The charms on your ring probably protected you, however it might or might not be that he killed the Horcrux."

"That means that we don't know if the Horcrux is still there or not?" Harry asked in an upset voice, feeling horrified as realisation set in.

"Now now, let's go home, where we can thoroughly discuss the matter," Cillian spoke up, calmingly.

HP

To Harry's relief, Madam Pomfrey immediately released him, unfortunately, with the comment that she was not any wiser than Remus and Cillian concerning the Horcrux.

"Can we please return to Diagon Alley?" Harry begged the adults, pointing out that he had not yet managed to buy any Christmas presents except for that for his wife.

"Tell me exactly what to buy and I'll do it for you," Remus offered, pointing out that Harry was under no circumstances allowed to go out again after what happened mere thirty minutes ago.

Harry grudgingly gave Remus instructions what to buy for whom, handing him a bag with Galleons, before he telepathically asked Hermione to purchase Remus' Christmas present for him.

'Why? What happened?' came the worried reply, causing Harry to inwardly groan.

'Dumbledore happened, and we had to return home,' he explained, sighing. 'We're fine though, but you know the adults. They didn't allow me to go to the Alley again today.'

HP

Christmas with his enlarged family as well as the Weasleys visiting every now and then was as good and enjoyable as always, and Harry tried to push the thought of the last Horcrux far from his mind.

It was only on New Year's Eve, the evening before they had to return to Hogwarts, that the topic was openly discussed again.

"I know how we can find out if the Horcrux is still there," Hermione suddenly blurted out, turning to Harry. "You just have to go close to Mr. Filch and see if your scar still hurts. If it does, the Horcrux is still there, if not, it's gone."

"That might be true," Sirius agreed immediately. "Try it out as soon as you're back at Hogwarts, Prongslet."

"I will," Harry promised. "What happened to Dumbledore by the way? He'd be able to come to Hogwarts and try to kill me there at any time, won't he?"

"No," Tonks was the first to reply. She seemed to have taken a liking to a certain werewolf and found herself as one of the frequent visitors at Potter Manor. "When I got to where Remus had stunned him after he attacked you, I sent him straight to Azkaban with a Portkey. According to his earlier trial, he already earned himself ten years just for coming near you, and attempted murder warrants for a one-way ticket to Azkaban."

"Don't worry about him," Remus added, reassuringly.

HP

"Harry, on Wednesday, the election of the new head of the Wizengamot is going to take place," Sirius suddenly spoke up. "Will you please accompany me in your function as Lord Potter?"

"Of course," Harry promised, slightly squirming in his seat. "If you tell me how to behave and what to do."

"Don't worry, Prongslet, I shall," Sirius promised, chuckling.

"My head of the Potter house robes should still be here," James threw in from his portrait. "Ask Gina to adjust them to fit you, Harry."

"All right," Harry replied, feeling very uncomfortable at the inexperienced task ahead.

HP

The children decided to take the Floo back to Hogwarts together with their parents instead of the long-hour train travel.

'We'd sit together with David, Ginny and the twins anyway, so we can instead spend some time at Hogwarts together,' Harry thought to Hermione, who agreed immediately.

'Maybe we'll be able to meet Mr. Filch and speak with the founders earlier,' she added, making Harry let out a long sigh.

HP

With the help of the Marauders' Map, which Sirius had kindly handed to Harry before returning to Hogwarts, it was not difficult to find Mr. Filch. The caretaker was just trying to repair a key hole that Peaves apparently had blocked with a chewing gum.

"Mr. Filch, shall we help you?" Hermione asked, kindly, causing the caretaker to stare at her in disdain.

"Why'd you help me?" he growled, glaring at the four first-years.

"Because this will be much easier with magic," Hermione replied and motioned Filch to step out of the way, before she summoned the remainder of the chewing gum, scorgifying it as it came out of the key hole.

"Thank you," Filch uttered in apparent confusion.

"If you ever need help for something that's better done with magic, just call us," Harry offered, noticing that his scar merely prickled, but did not hurt as much as before in the caretaker's presence. He reached for Hermione's hand, telepathically informing her of his findings, before they turned around to head to the founders' lair, closely followed by David and Ginny.

Suddenly, a high, pitchy voice rose from the back of the caretaker's head. "That's the boy. You must kill him."

 _tbc..._


	19. Chapter 19

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

The four friends decided to feign ignorance about Voldemort's outburst for the time being and speak with the founders first.

"You can still sense him, but it doesn't hurt anymore," Rowena repeated, pensively. She remained quiet for an instant, before she spoke again. "I believe that your scar is still connected to him, whilst the Horcrux must be gone due to the killing curse that was cast at you."

"I think so," Godric second her idea.

"Now, we need you to cast two spells," the female founder continued. "For the first spell, it doesn't matter who casts it," she explained. "It merely brings the spirit to the front. The second spell, however, kills the spirit and has to be cast by Harry. Harry, you may only cast the spell if your scar at prickles or hurts more than earlier, which means that you're sure that his spirit is at the front. Otherwise, you might end up killing Mr. Filch."

"All right," Harry thought, feeling very uncertain about the matter.

"You should go home and have your guardians make a dummy for you to practise," Salazar suggested, and the children agreed immediately. They walked to Sirius' and Remus' rooms, where Sirius conjured a life size dummy, which Remus charmed to at least slightly feature Mr. Filch's situation.

While his three friends practised the spell to call the spirit to the front of Filch's head, using the dummy, Harry practised his spell, as soon as the others succeeded with their spell. _'I hope I feel more standing in front of Filch and Voldemort than now,'_ he thought, anxiously.

They were just about to stop practising, when Rowena suddenly spoke up. "The students are arriving. I believe that you need to go to the Great Hall for the welcoming feast. I think you have practised enough. Please tell the headmistress of our plan and ask her when and where you can pull through with it. You probably don't want to have a large audience. Tomorrow, I'll show you what to do afterwards."

Harry agreed, and together with his twin and their betrotheds left the founders' quarters, leaving the dummy behind for further use.

HP

"I can call Mr. Filch to the staff room at any time," McGonagall said, thoughtfully. "I'd appreciate it though if Professor Snape was present as well. He might be able to help you in case you get into trouble." She gave the children a sharp look. "Do you want to do it right away, or are you too tired?"

"Right now please," Harry replied, quickly. "I want to get over with it."

McGonagall quickly called back her deputy headmaster and explained the situation, before she asked him to take the children to the staff room, while she was going to fetch the caretaker.

HP

When the friends entered the staff room together with Professor Snape, the Potions Master gave them a sharp look, before he asked, "What exactly is the first spell?"

Hermione showed him the spell, and Snape decided, "I'm going to cast it. You look exhausted, and I've only one dose of Pepperup potion with me right now, which Harry is going to need."

Knowing that the Potions Master was not only right but also an adult and a very powerful wizard, Hermione agreed, causing David and Ginny to follow her example. Harry obediently gulped down his dose of Pepperup potion, not only feeling much more alert and better immediately, but also feeling very much reassured by the older wizard's presence and promise to assist. To his relief, the steam that came out of his ears due to the potion had just vanished, when McGonagall entered the room together with the caretaker.

"You again," Filch mumbled, glaring at the small group of first-years.

"Yes, we heard that you need our help again," Harry replied in a soft voice, before unobtrusively nodding at Snape.

After the Potions Master had soundlessly waved his wand casting the first spell, Harry immediately noticed that the prickling in his scar intensified tenfold. _'Now,'_ he thought and, ignoring Voldemort's shouting that Filch should kill him before he'd kill them both, cast the spell that he had practised more than enough earlier.

All of a sudden, a black cloud emerged from Filch's head, and the students gave the professors a questioning look, feeling utterly relieved, when Snape stepped in and first changed the black cloud into a white one, which he then vanished with another flick of his wand.

"Is Mr. Filch all right?" Harry asked, worriedly looking at the caretaker, who was lying on the floor, seemingly unconscious.

"He'll be all right," Snape said in a comfortingly soft voice, before he leaned into the fireplace and called the healer.

'Thank Merlin Snape was with us,' Hermione thought to Harry. 'We completely forgot that Rowena told us she'd show us what to do after casting the spells tomorrow.'

'Oh right,' Harry recalled. 'Sorry, I completely forgot about that.'

"Mr. Filch will be all right," Pomfrey spoke up. "I'll take him with me for the night though. He'll be very grateful that you rescued him from his possessor." With that she conjured a stretcher and made Mr. Filch float out of the room.

"Severus, can you confirm that Voldemort is really gone this time?" McGonagall spoke up, looking at her deputy headmaster in clear expectation.

"I shall check it and inform you later on," Snape replied, letting his eyes wander over the group of first-years, before returning his gaze to the headmistress.

HP

When Argus Filch woke up, he felt better than he had felt in months and better than he had believed to ever been able to feel again. He faintly recalled that he was in the staff room together with the headmistress and her deputy as well as a group of first years, when Snape and one of the boys began to cast spells at him.

"What happened?" he asked the healer, who chose to step around his bed that very moment.

"Professor Snape and Harry O'Brien freed you from Voldemort's spirit," Pomfrey explained, grinning. "Congratulations, Argus."

"Oh thank Merlin," Argus blurted out in utter relief, feeling thoroughly annoyed, however, when the healer cast spell over spell at him and finally insisted to keep him until the evening.

"Why?" he growled in a relatively gentle growl, considering that the healer was something like his only friend at Hogwarts.

"Because your body needs some rest now. I'll tell you the reason in a minute." With that the healer strode back to her office, grinning to herself, as she developed a brilliant idea.

HP

Before breakfast, Minerva impatiently waited for the Potions Master to arrive, sighing with a combination of relief and expectation, when he finally stepped out of the fireplace.

Snape hurriedly rolled up his left sleeve, presenting his colleague a completely blank left arm, and a small smile of utter relief flashed over his face.

"It's gone," he informed her, trying to bite back a tear.

"Congratulations, Severus," Minerva said, warmly. "I'm very happy for you."

"Thank you, Minerva," Severus replied, sincerely, grudgingly accepting that the headmistress pulled him into a light hug.

"Very well then, I'll inform the Ministry about the matter," Minerva decided. "I'll see you at breakfast."

As soon as the Potions Master had left, she called Arthur Weasley, in her opinion the best Minister of Magic that the magical world had had in a long time.

HP

Apparently, the Minister of Magic had nothing urgent to do and decided to attend breakfast at Hogwarts to make sure that all students would know about the good news and to promise Lord Potter the Order of Merlin first class.

Harry rose from his seat, flabbergasted. "Excuse me, Mr. Weasley," he spoke up, causing everyone in the Great Hall to stare at the Ravenclaw table, "I won't accept any reward if at least Professor Snape doesn't receive the same. I wouldn't have been able to vanquish Voldemort without his help."

To his relief, the headmistress immediately nodded her agreement, and the minister relented.

"Very well, Harry, I'll see to it," he promised. "You'll both hear from me sometime during the next few days."

As Mr. Weasley sat down to enjoy his breakfast, Professor McGonagall stood and announced that classes would be cancelled for two days, so that everyone could enjoy the light side's victory over Voldemort, who had pulled the magical world into a long lasting war.

HP

The four friends decided to head to the founders' lair to thank Rowena and maybe learn some new spells.

"I wonder how Mr. Filch is," Harry spoke up, as they walked through the corridors, closely followed by Trouble, Purry and Crookshanks, before the cats changed their direction upon the sight of Mrs. Norris chasing a mouse into an alcove.

"Well, since Madam Pomfrey said he'll be fine, I don't think we have to worry about him," Ginny replied, giving David a questioning look.

"If we don't see him later on, we can always go and ask Pomfrey," Hermione suggested, causing Harry to nod in relief.

'You're the best, Mione,' he thought to his wife, smiling happily.

HP

"There are more things that I need you to do at some stage, however, right now, we have nothing urgent to prepare for," Rowena told them, before she suggested that Godric should teach them the Animagus transformation.

"Oh yes please," the four children replied, simultaneously, eagerly nodding their heads.

"Have you already decided into what kind of animal you wish to transform?" Godric queried, giving them a sharp look.

"I'd like to become either a dog or a cat," Hermione was the first to reply.

"A dog like Trouble," David added.

"Yes, that would be nice," Ginny agreed, before she admitted that she had not really thought about the matter yet.

"I just can't decide," Harry finally answered, letting out a long sigh. "On the one hand, I want to become a dog like Trouble to communicate with him and the others, but on the other hand, I thought that maybe a phoenix would be great, as I then would be able to fly, which I'm not allowed to otherwise because of my weak lungs."

Godric nodded in understanding, and Hermione spoke up again. "Professor, might it be possible to have two Animagus forms?"

The founder remained pensive for a moment, before he replied, "Usually not, however, for very powerful wizards it might be possible. I believe that Merlin was in fact a multiple Animagus, and it could be possible for Harry as well."

"Well, certainly not for me," David mumbled in apparent disappointment.

"David, we don't need it," Ginny told him. "If all of us become dogs, we can communicate, and if Harry is a phoenix, we can fly on brooms to accompany him."

"And if he flashes somewhere, he can take all of us with him," Hermione added, grinning.

HP

During the next few hours, Godric patiently taught them how to try changing their left hand first, imagining it to become like Trouble's left front paw. However, as much as the children practised, they were not able to spike as much as a finger full of white fur, let alone a paw.

"Patience," Godric told them, "you must be patient. The Animagus transformation is one of the most difficult tasks for wizards or witches, and most people aren't even able to manage it, let alone in their first Hogwarts year."

HP

Feeling slightly reassured by the founder's words, the four friends left and headed to the hospital wing to enquire about Mr. Filch's condition.

Knowing that Pomfrey didn't allow Trouble to run around the hospital wing, Harry gently scooped up the dog and cuddled him close before he followed his friends inside.

"I've sent Mr. Filch to St. Mungo's for four weeks," Pomfrey informed them, however, emphasizing that the caretaker would make a complete recovery.

HP

On Wednesday morning, Harry donned his Lord Potter robes, causing Hermione to stare at him in apparent amazement.

"You look very impressive," she blurted out in awe. "I wished I could accompany you."

"Sirius," Harry turned to his godfather. "Is Lady Potter allowed to accompany me to the Wizengamot?"

"Sure," Sirius replied, grinning. "You won't have a vote though, as you only have one vote together."

"Of course," Hermione replied, unaware of the fact that Sirius was not as acquainted with some matters in the magical world as one could believe without taking into consideration his lost time due to his stay in Azkaban as well as his bad relationship to his mother, who had kept him away from all responsibilities.

 _tbc..._


	20. Chapter 20

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

When Harry and Hermione arrived at the Wizengamot together with Sirius and Professor McGonagall, the Minister of Magic informed them that Harry possessed four votes as well as another three votes together with his wife.

"Excuse me, sir, but why might that be?" Harry asked in confusion.

"You're the rightful heir of the houses of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin, and together with Lady Potter, you have the vote of Potter house," Mister Weasley explained. "Above all, Professor Dumbledore, who is currently residing in Azkaban, has made both of you together the heirs of the Dumbledore family, which means that you have inherited his two votes of Merlin and Dumbledore house."

"Hermione and me?" Harry asked, incredulously. "But why not his brother Aberforth?"

"That I don't know, Harry," Mr. Weasley replied, smiling at the boy.

"But the boy's only eleven," Lucius Malfoy threw in, sounding furious. "Minors are not allowed to be present at the Wizengamot, let alone vote."

"Ah but Lucius, Lord and Lady Potter here are already of age and Lord Potter is acting as the head of the noble house of Potter," Augusta Longbottom informed Malfoy in a firm voice, shaking her head at the dark wizard, who seemed to behave as if he owned the Wizengamot.

'He's the most unsympathetic wizard whom I've ever met,' Harry thought to Hermione upon listening to Mr. Malfoy's tirades for a few minutes.

'Absolutely,' Hermione agreed. 'I hope very much that Sirius wins.'

Harry unobtrusively nodded, gently squeezing his wife's hand, before he informed Mr. Weasley that he accepted his four votes and would leave their three common votes to Lady Potter.

After about an hour of discussion, the election took place, and to Harry's relief, Sirius won the election with 63 votes against Mr. Malfoy with 57 votes.

'Oh Merlin, it's our seven votes that make the difference,' Hermione thought to Harry, squeezing his hand that had been in her gentle grip during the whole time.

'Yes,' Harry silently confirmed, smiling.

Only when he and his wife left the Wizengamot together with Professor McGonagall, while Sirius remained to speak with the Minister of Magic and several members of the Wizengamot, Harry caught Luicius Malfoy's expression and realised that he had just made a new enemy just by being at this place at this time in his function as Lord Potter.

HP

"I wonder why Dumbledore made Hermione and me his heirs," he spoke up, when they were back at their own rooms at Hogwarts. "I mean, he tried to kill me. Isn't that a contradiction in itself?"

"That's indeed extremely strange," Remus agreed, shaking his head in confusion.

"Maybe he's gone nuts?" Lily asked, causing James to nod, thoughtfully.

"I don't think he's nuts," he spoke up. "However, there's probably no one able to understand the strange windings of his mind."

"How come that Harry and Hermione never heard about the matter before though?" David enquired. "If they're the heirs..." He slowly trailed off.

"That's because Dumbledore isn't dead yet," James explained. "The only thing that Harry and Hermione inherited so far is the vote at the Wizengamot, because Dumbledore isn't able to vote himself, nothing else."

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted, when the headmistress stepped out of the fireplace to enquire if anyone was interested in holding a party for Sirius as the new head of the Wizengamot in the Great Hall during or after dinner.

"Of course," Harry and David were the first to reply with great enthusiasm.

"May we ask the Weasley twins..."

"... to help us organise it?" they asked, causing McGonagall to agree, smiling.

HP

The six children worked together changing the Great Hall into a beach with many small tables under palm trees as well as a small lake at one side of the hall and a jungle on the other side. On the wall opposite the spot where the head table used to be was a large poster with the writing, _'The Junior Marauders congratulate Padfoot for becoming head of the Wizengamot'_. They were just only finished on time for dinner and immediately occupied the table next to the shore, where they waited for everyone else to arrive.

Except for a couple of Slytherins concentrated around Draco Malfoy, who remained quiet on their side near the jungle during the whole event, everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the party for their funny Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, especially when the six Junior Marauders, as they decided to call themselves, showed the others their juggling charms, which Harry, David and Hermione had once displayed for the Muggle students at the university.

It was shortly before curfew, when the party ended, and Sirius pulled the six organisers aside.

"Do you know what you must do in order to become the Junior Marauders?" he asked, smirking, only to add, "It's not that easy."

"No Uncle Sirius, but please tell us and we'll see to it," Hermione replied, smiling in anticipation.

"You need to become Animagi," Sirius informed them, grinning, before he left the Great Hall together with Annette and Remus.

When the older twins cast the others questioning looks, Hermione explained that they had already began practising the Animagus transformation and invited Fred and George to practise together with them.

'Even if we can't take them to the founders' lair, we can still study together with them,' she thought to Harry, who full heartedly agreed.

HP

When Mr. Filch returned after a little more than four weeks, he seemed unchanged, and none of the students were really happy to have him back to say the least. However, the caretaker behaved much friendlier towards a certain group of first-years than to everyone else.

'Maybe he remembers that it was us, respectively you, who freed him from Voldemort,' Hermione thought to Harry, who nodded his agreement, before he pulled her into a long kiss.

"Are you looking forward to the summer holidays?" he asked, when they finally parted.

"Very much so," Hermione confirmed, "but not really to the end of year tests."

Harry let out a snort. "I don't think we really have to worry about the tests," he replied, grinning.

HP

As Harry had predicted, the end of year tests were no problem for the four first-years, and they began to eagerly plan their summer holidays.

Together with their enlarged family including the Weasleys and the Grangers, they spent the summer at Potter Manor.

"Have you made any plans for the holidays?" Annette questioned the children at breakfast of the first morning at home, causing the children to smile.

"Yes, we thought we could spend the mornings doing our summer assignments first and later then study our second-year's books," Hermione began to explain, glancing at Harry.

"After that, we plan to practise the Animagus transformation together with the twins..." the boy continued, before his brother interrupted him.

"Sirius, could you perhaps help us with this?" David enquired.

"During the afternoons, we thought we could maybe have some fun like swimming in the lake," Ginny added to the explanations.

"We'd also be thrilled..."

"... if we could learn to brew some more prank potions," the older twins voiced their opinion.

"I want to go flying," Ron blurted out. "We studied enough during the school year. Now I want to have some fun."

"Why don't you go flying then, while we do what we think is fun?" Hermione immediately countered in a soft voice.

"We were also wondering..."

"... if we could invite Neville Longbottom here for a while..."

"... He seems very nice and has to stay all by himself together with his grandmother," the younger twins explained, causing their parents to nod.

"Of course we can do that," Annette agreed, immediately. "He seems to be a very nice boy."

"He's my godson," Lily threw in, smiling, before her smile faltered when she recalled what Minerva had told her about what had happened to the boy's parents. "His parents have been tortured to insanity and are in the long-time ward of St. Mungo's," she explained, only to add, "I wished I was able to brew potions myself and could try to invent something to cure them."

"Maybe we can..."

"... invent a cure together," the Weasley twins suggested without even pondering the matter.

"Would you really try to do that?" Lily enquired, letting her eyes wander over the group of children.

"Of course, Mum," Harry replied immediately, causing everyone except for Percy and Ron to nod.

Lily remained pensive for a moment, before she asked, seemingly out of the blue. "How are you getting along with Severus Snape?"

"He's very nice..."

"... at least to us," Harry and David informed her.

"Why are you asking, Mum?"

Lily let out a deep sigh. "He's the best Potions Master since Salazar Slytherin. If anyone would be able to find a cure, it would be him. I was just wondering if we could convince him to come here and work together with us. It would be much safer for all of you if he was with us, as I wouldn't be able to protect you if anything dangerous happened, which can always occur with test potions."

"Why don't we just invite him here?" Cillian suggested, giving Harry and David a questioning look.

"I believe that Severus must be very grateful towards Harry, as it was only because of Harry's invention that the Ministry awarded him the Order of Merlin," Molly spoke up. "Maybe it would be the best if Harry went to ask him, taking Hermione as the Secret Keeper and Lily in a small portrait with him."

"Mum," Ron spoke up, sounding very whiny, "I don't want to stay here if the greasy git comes here. May Percy and I return to the Burrow?"

"Ronald!" Mrs. Weasley immediately scolded her son. "Considering that neither of you made as much as one friend at Hogwarts, you should be grateful to be here together with other children. However, do as you wish, and Dad and I will take turns staying overnight with you."

No one else said a word, however, from Mrs. Weasley's expression, it became very clear that she was not pleased with her two sons at all.

HP

Ten minutes later, Harry stepped into the fireplace carrying a small photo frame with Lily's portrait. "The headmistress' office, Hogwarts," he shouted and vanished in the flames, closely followed by Hermione.

"Harry, Hermione," McGonagall spoke up, eyeing her favourite students with surprise. "Are you already missing the school?" she queried, her voice clearly filled with amusement.

"Oh well, Professor, we love this school," Hermione replied, chuckling, before Harry informed the headmistress about the reason for their visit.

"We wanted to give Professor Snape some space and not floo right into his office," he continued, "plus we hoped that maybe you'd be willing to help us to try convincing him."

Casting the students a doubtful look, McGonagall promised to give it a try. She leaned into the fireplace and called her deputy headmaster, who quirked an eyebrow in silent question upon seeing the two eleven-year-olds.

Hermione hurriedly replied to his unasked question, before she timidly enquired, "Would you be willing to help us, sir?"

HP

Emotions flushed over the Potions Master's face, before he managed to efficiently hide them behind a blank mask.

 _'I owe Harry, because it's only for him that I received the Order of Merlin,'_ he thought. _'But Black and Lupin are staying with him. They behaved really civically during the school year though.'_ His thoughts went haywire, before he heard a soft voice speak to him from outside his mind.

"Please, Severus," Lily spoke up from the small photo frame. "If anyone can help them, it's you."

Severus shook his head, while he still remained thoughtful for a moment.

 _tbc..._


	21. Chapter 21

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

"I'm not sure if the Longbottoms can be cured by a potion," Snape finally voiced his thoughts. "Since they were hurt by a spell, maybe it needs to be a spell to reverse their situation. I suggest that we speak with Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor in their portraits and ask them. Maybe there is a remedy, even if not for the Cruciatus curse, then maybe for insanity, which we could use - at least as the basis for further research," he then suggested.

"Severus, will you please take Harry and Hermione to speak with Salazar and Godric then?" McGonagall asked in a soft voice.

'We can simply ask the founders in the founders' lair,' Harry thought to Hermione, however, neither of them trusted the Potions Master enough to tell him about the founders' lair.

Suddenly, Godric spoke up from his portrait that showed him as the former headmaster of Hogwarts.

"I believe that there is a spell, however, I don't remember it clearly. Therefore, I suggest that Harry and Hermione go to the founders' lair and speak with my portrait there. Maybe he knows. Or give me a moment, I'll ask him." With that Godric vanished from his portrait, only to reappear a minute later together with Salazar who pushed him aside.

"There's a potion that should work," Salazar informed his audience, making everyone stare at the founder in expectation. "I believe that it's in book nine of my Parselscript books in my personal library."

"Thank you very much, sir," Harry replied, politely. "Where is your personal library, sir?"

"Do you know my Chamber of Secrets?" Salazar queried, quirking an eyebrow. Seeing everyone shake their heads, he explained everything about his Chamber, his familiar Amaterasu, a basilisk, who was residing there, and about his private rooms within the Chamber. "Before going to meet Amaterasu, you must cast a spell to change her large, yellow eyes to white. Otherwise, you will die the instant you look into her eyes," he explained.

"Salazar, why don't you step into this small portrait frame, so that Severus, Harry and Hermione can take you with them?" Lily offered and left the small frame, joining Godric in his portrait.

Salazar agreed and took the small group to the edge of the lake, where he taught Severus a spell and instructed him to cast it, so that Amaterasu could not endanger anyone at Hogwarts.

"Excuse me, sir, how often will the spell have to be renewed?" Snape asked with apparent interest, before he told the founder that a girl had been killed by looking into the basilisk's eyes about fifty years ago.

"It has to be recast once a year," Salazar replied, and the younger Potions Master promised to remember reapplying the spell every year.

Salazar showed them to his Chamber of Secrets and introduced them to Amaterasu, who was a very amiable familiar. Harry spoke with the basilisk for a little while, wondering why everyone else, even Hermione, remained quiet for once, before Salazar finally led them to his library and potions lab.

'Harry, did you know that you're able to speak Parseltongue?' Hermione thought to him, when they entered the library.

'Parsel what?' Harry thought back.

'Snake language, Harry,' Hermione replied, smiling.

'No. Is that bad?' Harry enquired, horrified at the thought that he was indeed a freak like his relatives had always told him.

'Of course not, dear,' Hermione quickly reassured her husband.

The library was enormous, and not only the professor but also the students stared around in amazement.

"Do you perhaps have a cure for Lycanthropy as well?" Snape suddenly asked, looking at the founder in clear expectation.

"Exuse me, for what?" Salazar queried.

"For curing werewolves," Snape explained, causing Salazar to nod.

"The wolvescure potion, of course," Salazar confirmed. "It should be in book 13 of my Parselscript books."

Together, they searched for books 9 and 13, and Harry quickly skimmed the books for the requested potions.

"Harry, can you read that?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Of course," Harry replied, showing the book to Salazar. "Is that the wolvescure potion, sir?"

"Yes it is. Very well, since you're able to read my writing, feel free to use my library as often as you wish," Salazar said, smirking. "I suggest that Harry first translates the two recipes that you need right away. Afterwards, you can look for more recipes that might be lost in your time."

Everyone agreed and headed back to the headmistress' office, after switching on the fireplace in the Chamber upon Amaterasu's pleading.

Harry promised to translate both recipes during the next few hours, and Snape agreed to come over to Potter Manor in the late afternoon to take a look at the recipes and, if possible, brew them together with a few assistants at the Manor right afterwards.

"Don't get your hopes up too much," he warned the students. "We don't know yet if we still have the necessary ingredients in our time."

While Harry stared at the Potions Master in shock, Hermione showed the professor a small parchment, making the older wizard nod contentedly.

"Thank you, Ms. Granger," he said, before he graciously stepped into the fireplace to return to his rooms.

"Thank you for involving Professor Snape in this," McGonagall spoke up, smiling. "He can really use some company for once. I don't like how he spends the whole day all alone in the dungeons."

"We don't have a problem working together with him," Harry reassured the headmistress, and he and Hermione returned home, not without inviting McGonagall to visit them as often as she could get away from Hogwarts.

 _'I hope we'll manage to cure Remus and the Longbottoms,'_ Harry thought, as he settled down at the table in the dining room to translate the requested recipes.

HP

"The potion for the Longbottoms we can brew," Snape voiced after closely inspecting the recipe. "However, we don't have roots of aconite, which is on the list of ingredients for the wolvescure potion."

Trying to hide his disappointment, Harry suggested, "Shall we brew the potion for Neville's parents right away, sir?"

The Potions Master agreed and with Harry's and Hermione's assistance brewed the potion from Harry's translation of Salazar's recipe, glad that all ingredients could be found in the large lab at Potter Manor, which was equipped with a self-refilling ingredients shelf. Two hours later, the three brewers cleaned up their workspace and left the lab with two small phials of the concoction safely tucked in Snape's robe pockets.

"We should call Madam Pomfrey and ask her to accompany us to St. Mungo's to administer the potion," Snape suggested, when they were back on the first floor.

"No dears, we're going to have dinner first," Molly contradicted him in a firm voice and ushered the three brewers into the dining room.

In the meantime, Lily went to Hogwarts and informed the healer, who was very pleased to hear about the matter and quickly made her way to Potter Manor to support her colleague and students.

Snape quickly filled in his colleague about the two potions recipes that they had received from Salazar as well as their disappointment with the missing ingredient for the wolvescure potion.

"Roots of aconite?" Cillian spoke up. "Is it possible that it's a Muggle ingredient? I think I've heard of aconite before."

"Maybe that it's still existent in the Muggle world, while it's lost in the magical world," Snape said, pensively, causing Cillian to rise from his chair in determination. "I'll head to the university and try to find out something," he promised, as he crossed the room and left right away, while David and Ginny hurried after him to possibly assist in the matter.

HP

After dinner, Harry and Hermione followed Pomfrey and Snape into the fireplace to head to St. Mungo's. Fortunately, Pomfrey was good friends with the head healer, and Professor Snape was allowed to administer his potion to Alice and Frank Longbottom under the sharp eyes of Pomfrey and the healers of the long-time ward.

'I hope it goes well,' Harry thought to Hermione, while they were waiting outside the Longbottoms' room.

'If so, we need to call Neville quickly,' Hermione replied, just when Snape came out of the room, suddenly looking very tired.

"What happened sir?"

"Did it work?" the students queried, hurriedly, eyeing the Potions Master in concern.

"Can one of you call Mr. Longbottom here quickly?" Snape asked, causing Harry to nod and head away as quickly as he dared without getting breathing problems.

Ten minutes later, he returned with Augusta and Neville Longbottom on his heels.

"Severus," Mrs. Longbottom addressed the Potions Master. "Why are we here? Did something happen?"

"They're cured, but they don't believe me that ten years passed," Snape replied, tiredly. "Please go in and speak with them."

HP

"Shall we return to Potter Manor, sir?" Hermione offered, apparently understanding the Potions Master's feelings.

"Yes sir, let's go and see if my father could find out something about the other ingredient," Harry agreed, recalling what McGonagall told them about the Potions Master. 'He shouldn't return to Hogwarts in the mood he's in,' he thought to Hermione, who unobtrusively smiled at him.

"One of you should remain here and offer the Longbottoms to join you at Potter Manor if your family doesn't mind," Snape replied, sighing. "They're so out of real life that they probably won't be able to just continue leading a normal life. Neville is only eleven, and his grandmother quite old. I believe that they need help. It won't do good taking them to Hogwarts, as everyone except for myself is about the same age as Augusta Longbottom," he added, thoughtfully.

"Yes, that's true, and I believe that it's a good idea to take them with us," Hermione said, warmly. "Our family won't mind at all."

"Harry, why don't you go in and tell them about Professor Snape's idea," Pomfrey, who had joined them a few minutes ago, suggested, and Harry agreed.

He hesitantly entered the room and greeted Neville's parents, only to learn that Neville's mother was his godmother, before he could offer the family to come to live at Potter Manor for the time being.

"First of all, I need to apologize to Severus and thank him for curing us," Alice Longbottom replied. "Afterwards, we'd love to join you at Potter Manor, provided that it's all right with Augusta and Neville."

"Of course, it would be so cool," Neville told her, smiling broadly at Harry.

HP

Twenty minutes later, the whole group including the four Longbottoms and Snape stumbled out of the fireplace at Potter Manor, and Harry led everyone into the dining room, before he asked Gina to call his enlarged family and serve some snacks for everyone.

If the Longbottoms were surprised that apart from the Weasley clan most of Harry's enlarged family consisted of Muggles, they did not show it. On the contrary, they seemed to be very happy for Harry and were delighted that Professor Snape together with Lord and Lady Potter had been able to rescue them from a very unfortunate fate.

"Let's just hope we can cure the werewolves, too," Snape mumbled, causing Dan Granger to enquire what the problem was.

"Roots of aconite shouldn't be a problem," he finally said, glancing at his wife, who confirmed that it sounded like a normal herb in the Muggle world.

"Tomorrow morning, we'll see to it if Cillian doesn't manage to lay his hands on it," she promised, smiling.

"Thank you all so very much for trying," Remus suddenly spoke up, teary-eyed.

"Of course we try, and if we can't get the ingredient, we'll do some research in order to replace it with something else," Harry promised, glancing at the Potions Master, who nodded his agreement.

"Don't get your hopes up, Lupin, but we'll try the best we can," he told his former classmate, whose tears were now running down freely.

 _tbc..._


	22. Chapter 22

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

While healing the Longbottoms had been a fairly quiet even if happy affair, curing Remus Lupin from Lycanthropy was a matter with far reaching consequences.

After it became clear that Remus had not transformed during the last two full moons, Arthur Weasley awarded Snape, Harry, Hermione and Cillian, without his help the brewing of the cure wouldn't have been possible, the Order of Merlin first class. At first, Harry and Snape tried to dismiss it but finally accepted, knowing that it would be a great treat for Cillian to receive the award, which was the greatest honour in the magical world.

In return, Snape, Hermione and Harry promised to use their free time to brew as many doses of the wolvescure as possible in order to cure all werewolves in Britain during the next two years. They decided to spend all Saturday and Sunday afternoons at the potions lab of Potter Manor to use the advantage of the self-refilling ingredients shelves for their work, provided that the headmistress would allow them to leave Hogwarts so frequently.

'That's great, then we can meet my parents every weekend,' Hermione thought to Harry, knowing that the Grangers were going to continue living at the Manor, even if they would be at Hogwarts, in order to not leave the Longbottoms alone.

'Yeah, that's cool,' Harry thought back, feeling equally happy to be able to meet his parents-in-law on a frequent basis.

HP

For Harry, David and their betrotheds, their second Hogwarts year passed much too fast for their liking. They used every free minute to practise the Animagus transformation together with the older twins and Neville, who now belonged to their best friends. The five second-years also spent much time at Potter Manor during the weekends, not only to brew the wolvescure together with Professor Snape, but also to help the Longbottoms adjust to their new lives as fast as possible.

Professor McGonagall had offered Frank Longbottom the position of the Ancient Runes professor, however, Frank and Alice did not feel accustomed enough to their new life to fulfil the post and had asked the headmistress to give them some time to adjust.

Only during the Christmas holidays, which the whole extended family spent at the Manor, Frank felt ready enough to take over the position from the first of January onwards.

'I'm so happy for Neville,' Harry thought to Hermione, while Frank and McGonagall spoke about placing the Longbottoms' quarters right next to those of the O'Briens.

'Me too,' Hermione agreed. 'Neville has become much more confident, and he's a really great friend now.'

HP

The rest of their second year passed in a blur and ended with the good news that Neville was going to become a big brother coming Christmas.

On the day, when everyone else boarded the Hogwarts Express to return home, Harry and his extended family travelled back to Potter Manor through the fireplace like they had always done except for the beginning of their first year. Back at home, they put their luggage away and had lunch, before they travelled to Cillian's office at the university, where the children had agreed to once again do a presentation of magic for the students.

This time, Harry had even convinced Neville to participate, knowing that the boy was very good with plants and was able to grow certain plants just with one complicated spell.

Another point that was different to previous years was that not only the British Prime Minister participated as usual, but also Mr. Weasley in his position as the Minister of Magic and Sirius as head of the Wizengamot.

As usual, their display was a huge success, and Harry noticed with amazement that the number of students participating in Cillian's class had about tripled compared to the first class, which he had held a few years ago.

HP

Harry thoroughly enjoyed his summer holidays, even if he spent the mornings working on their assignments or studying their third-year books together with the others and the afternoons brewing the wolvescure potion together with Hermione and Snape. Every free minute was used for the Animagus practice, and by the end of the summer holidays, the five soon to be third-years and the Weasley twins were all able to transform their left hand.

While the Weasley twins were trying to transform into parrots, a form of which Harry thought that it was very fitting for his funny friends, Neville practised the transformation into a dog like everyone else. Afraid that he would end up in some strange creature with paws and feathers at the same time, Harry had decided to practise the transformation into a dog first and, only if he succeeded, to further try for a phoenix form.

HP

It was two days before the children had to leave for Hogwarts, to where the professors had already returned, leaving them at the Manor with Cillian, the Grangers and Alice and Augusta Longbottom, that word got to Potter Manor that Albus Dumbledore had escaped from Azkaban.

"I've never heard that anyone escaped from Azkaban," Augusta Longbottom was the first to comment on the article in the Daily Prophet, frowning.

"The problem is that he might have escaped to go after Harry," Alice replied in apparent concern. "If I remember correctly what you told me, he was thrown into Azkaban because of trying to kill Harry."

"Oh well, in fact it was good that he did," Harry said, smirking, however, he had to admit to himself that the thought of Dumbledore having escaped Azkaban was not overly reassuring.

"So much about being able to participate in the Hogsmeade visits," David spoke up, darkly.

"You can still go to Hogsmeade," Harry replied, rolling his eyes. "Even if they won't allow me to go, there's no reason why you can't. I'll well be able to occupy myself alone at Hogwarts for a few hours."

"I'll always be with you anyway," Hermione threw in, smiling.

"I don't think it'll be necessary to refrain from going to Hogsmeade," James spoke up. "If he really wants to get to you, he'll be able to catch you at Hogwarts at any time."

"Yes, but we can ask Minerva to ward the castle in a way that no unforgivable spells can be cast within Hogwarts," Lily contradicted. "At Hogsmeade, Dumbledore could just do anything."

'I hope I'll be able to manage the Animagus transformation into a phoenix soon,' Harry thought to Hermione. 'Then I can just flash away if he shows up.'

HP

As James had predicted, nothing could prevent Albus Dumbledore from contacting Harry at Hogwarts.

It was on the second day of school that Harry had caught a bad cold that in combination with hurrying from the Potions classroom out to the Care of Magical Creatures classroom landed him into the hospital wing.

His wife, brother and friends kept him company until curfew, before his parents and godparents visited him and finally were thrown out by the healer.

Harry had just drifted off into a potions induced slumber, grateful that he was finally able to breathe again, when a bright flash lit the otherwise empty hospital wing.

Harry stared at the phoenix on his night table in surprise, only to realise in shock that the phoenix jumped down onto the floor and transformed into an old man.

"Dumbledore," Harry whispered, horrified.

"Ah my boy, how nice to see you again," Dumbledore greeted him, before he helped himself to a couple of Berti Botts Beans from a small box on Harry's night table. "It's always pleasant to have some nice sweets at hand," he voiced, pleasantly, seemingly contented with himself.

"What do you want?" Harry asked, coldly, wondering if he should telepathically ask Hermione to fetch help. Curious, however, he decided against it for the time being.

 _'Maybe it's only a strange feeling, but I don't really think that he wants to kill me, considering that he made Mione and me his heirs,'_ he thought, looking at the old wizard with a combination of annoyance and expectation.

"It was never my intention to murder you, my boy," the former headmaster finally spoke up. "I merely wanted to kill the Horcrux within your head, and I believe that I succeeded."

"Yes sir, thank you very much," Harry replied in confusion, before he asked, "But why didn't you tell anyone? Why did you allow them to put you into Azkaban for murder?"

Dumbledore smiled a sad looking smile. "Who do you think would have believed me? Even you didn't know about the Horcrux at that time."

"I did," Harry contradicted, "but I didn't know about your motives, sir. Why did you make Hermione and me your heirs, by the way?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Ah that, my boy," he began to reply, before he stopped, remained quiet for a while, and finally told the boy what he described as his deepest secret.

"My brother is the only person aware of this, but Hermione's father is my grandson," he admitted. "I was once married, and we had a son, however, he was a Squib, and after growing up here at Hogwarts until the age of eleven, he wanted nothing to do with us anymore. This went so far that he did not even tell his own son about me being his grandfather..."

"This means that you're Hermione's great grandfather and that her father isn't a Muggle but a Squib," Harry concluded, questioningly.

"Exactly my boy," Dumbledore confirmed.

"What happened, sir?" Harry queried. "With your wife I mean."

Dumbledore sighed. "She died in the war against Grindelwald," he replied in a grave voice. "Now, I'll let you sleep, but I'd appreciate it if you could ask Mr. Weasley for a trial for me."

"Of course, sir," Harry promised, before he remembered to ask, "Where can I contact you, sir?"

"At Dumbledore Manor," the old wizard replied and transformed into his phoenix form, flashing away an instant later.

HP

As soon as the old wizard was gone, Harry called Gina and asked her for parchment and a quill.

 _'Dear Mr. Weasley,  
Dumbledore just visited me and explained several things to me. He never tried to murder me. It was a misunderstanding. I can explain everything to you. Could you please see to it that he gets a proper trial as soon as possible. _

_Thank you very much,_

 _Harry'_

"Gina," Harry once again called the head elf from the Manor. "Could you please give this to Mr. Weasley first thing in the morning?"

"Of course, Master Harry," Gina replied, gently, before she left with a small pop.

HP

Early the following morning, Mr. Weasley visited Harry together with Sirius to enquire about the matter with Dumbledore. Glad that both men were members of his extended family and knew about the matter with the Horcruxes, Harry could easily convince them of Dumbledore's intentions.

Twenty minutes later, the older wizards left, and Mr. Weasley promised a simple trial with a quick questioning for Dumbledore within the week.

HP

"Dumbledore is my great grandfather?" Hermione asked, incredulously.

Harry nodded. "He told me so last night."

Hermione gave him a sharp look. "You weren't delirious now, were you?"

"Definitely not," Harry reassured her, chuckling. "That's the reason why he made us his heirs, although I'm not sure why us and not just you," he added, thoughtfully. "Hey," he continued, as a sudden idea crossed his mind, "why don't we invite your parents to meet us and him during the first Hogsmeade visit?"

Hermione stared at her husband in apparent amazement. "That's a wonderful idea, Harry. Let's ask my parents when we go home during the weekend," she added, eagerly, placing a kiss on Harry's forehead, before she hurried away to her first morning class.

HP

Five days later, Dumbledore was a free man, and Harry and Hermione arranged with him and the Grangers to meet at Hogsmeade on the following Saturday.

None of them could even imagine how they were going to regret their arrangement before the Hogsmeade visit was even over.

 _tbc..._


	23. Chapter 23

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

Together with David, Ginny and Neville, Harry and Hermione walked to Hogsmeade, where they separated from the others to wait for the Grangers in front of the fireplace at The Three Broomsticks.

The Grangers arrived punctually, and, glancing at her wristwatch, Hermione suggested, "Shall we go to the bookshop for a while? We still have thirty minutes before our meeting with Dumbledore."

Everyone agreed, and Harry and Hermione led the Muggles through the small town that was full with students on this beautiful autumn day.

Just when they arrived in front of the bookshop, Harry heard a voice that made his blood curl. He recognised it immediately. It was the voice of the most unpleasant wizard whom he had ever met.

"Ah, if it's not the mudblood together with muggles," Lucius Malfoy shouted, causing several students to flee the area.

"Leave us in peace," Hermione replied in a firm voice, while Harry immediately pushed the Grangers behind his back.

"I won't have a filthy mudblood tell me what to do," Malfoy sneered, haughtily, disgust clearly written in his face, as he pointed his cane at Hermione.

Harry could barely hear the whispered words that accompanied the curse, however, he instinctively jumped in front of Hermione, right before the killing curse made contact with his ring that absorbed it, flaring green as the unforgivable curse vanished into thin air.

'Thank you Harry. You shouldn't have done that. Are you all right?' Hermione frantically thought to him, reaching for his hand.

 _'I'm still alive,'_ Harry thought in surprise, giving Hermione an unobtrusive nod, just when Malfoy readied his cane again in apparent anger.

However, before he could cast another curse, a loud voice cut through the air.

"How dare you attack my great granddaughter and her husband? Lady Potter is not muggleborn. She's the heir of the ancient houses of Dumbledore and Merlin. As soon as she reaches her magical majority, she'll be the most powerful witch alive."

With a flick of the old wizard's wand, the blonde wizard was hovering in the air, several inches above their heads, where he was unwillingly turning around himself like a circus acrobat. A huge circle of students now joined the small group, laughing at the evil wizard's misery.

Harry did not hear a word, when Dumbledore summoned Malfoy's cane, mere instants, before Tonks and Shacklebolt arrived, having been alerted to the incident by the professors on duty. Unfortunately, Malfoy was able to get away through the crowd, unwillingly leaving his cane with the Aurors.

Dumbledore turned to Harry and the Grangers. "Are you all unharmed?"

"Yes sir," Hermione replied, seemingly shaken. 'Let's go to Potter Manor,' she thought to Harry, who immediately agreed. "Professor, can Fawkes perhaps take us away from here?" she asked, fingering in her inner robe pocket for a small parchment, which she handed to the old wizard.

"Of course," Dumbledore replied, returning the parchment in understanding, before he summoned Fawkes and instructed the phoenix to take the Potters and the Grangers to Potter Manor. As soon as everyone began to grab Fawkes' tail feathers, he transformed into his own phoenix form and left after his familiar.

HP

 _'It's really time I manage to transform into a dog, so I can begin practising the transformation into a phoenix,'_ Harry thought, feeling very grateful to the old wizard for saving them from whatever fate they could have expected otherwise. _'Maybe I can convince Hermione to practise with me. If she's the most powerful witch in the world, she should be able to have two Animagus forms as well.'_

"Thanks Great granddad and Harry for saving us from Malfoy," Hermione blurted out when they reached the dining room, where Gina just served refreshments.

"It's all right dear, nothing happened," Harry said, soothingly, gently wiping a couple of tears from her cheek.

"Only because of our rings, otherwise, you'd be dead," Hermione replied, seemingly horrified. "And Malfoy will come back for us, now that he managed to get away."

"That's for sure," Harry agreed. "We just have to be very careful, love."

"That you must do," Dumbledore confirmed, nodding gravely, before he efficiently changed the topic and informed the Grangers about their relationship.

"Excuse me sir," Mr. Granger finally spoke up, questioningly, "is there a reason why you only tell us this now? We'd have appreciated this information, when Hermione first began to display magic, of which we didn't even know that it was magic until Professor O'Brien told us as much."

Dumbledore thoughtfully stroked his beard, before he replied, slowly, "It was too dangerous with Voldemort alive. You'd have been in incredible danger had he known about our relationship."

"That's true," James spoke up from his portrait, taking the old wizard's side, while his wife nodded in confirmation.

The Grangers and their old ancestor spent the next few hours animatedly talking, until it was time for Hermione and Harry to return to Hogwarts. Not wanting to floo right into the headmistress' office, they used the fireplace of The Three Broomsticks and walked up to the castle together with many other students who were just on their way home from the Hogsmeade visit.

HP

In the morning, the picture of Lucius Malfoy hovering in the air like a marionette made the front page of the Daily Prohpet.

 _'Lucius Malfoy insults heir of Merlin'_ the headline screamed.

 _'By Rita Skeeter'_

 _'Lucius Malfoy saw fit to misuse the Hogwarts students' Hogsmeade day to violently attack Hermione Granger, calling her Mudblood and casting the killing curse at her, which her husband, Harry Potter O'Brien managed to dodge by whatever means. Lady Potter-Gryffindor-Ravenclaw-Slytherin-Hufflepuff is not muggleborn like Albus Dumbledore alerted the public right after the attack. In fact, she is the heir of Merlin and Dumbledore and as such to be expected the most powerful witch alive. Aurors have confirmed that Lucius indeed cast the killing curse and is now wanted by the Ministry of Magic to receive a trial and hopefully be sent to Azkaban forever. Read more about the connection between Dumbledore and Lord and Lady Potter on page 5.'_

'We shouldn't participate in the Hogsmeade visits anymore, as long as Lucius isn't caught,' Harry thought to Hermione, who unconditionally agreed.

'We'd only endanger everyone else,' she added. 'It's not worth it.'

The idea _'Malfoy doesn't need us to go to Hogsmeade; he can as well come to Hogwarts to meet us'_ crossed Harry's mind, however, he refrained from relenting his thoughts to his wife, knowing that she was still shaken from the attack on the previous day.

HP

One evening, after spending some time alone without their three usually inseparable friends, Hermione and Harry separated in the entrance hall shortly before curfew. While Hermione walked back to Ravenclaw, Harry returned to his parents' quarters, when all of a sudden, Draco Malfoy stepped into his way.

"Draco," Harry spoke up in surprise. So far, the two boys had barely ever spoken together, due to being in different houses and not even having classes together apart from the occasional exception. _'I hope he's not going to try to harass me because of what Dumbledore did to his father,'_ he thought, giving the other boy a sharp look.

"Potter, or O'Brien if you prefer that," Draco spoke up, surprisingly friendly.

"I'm just Harry," Harry replied, offering the blonde a smile.

"Okay, I'm Draco," Draco stated, returning a hesitant smile. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm not my father. My father and most of my housemates of course assume that I'm on his side, but I have no intention of following his footpath. I just wanted to let you know." He unsurely glanced into Harry's face.

Harry smiled. "Thanks Draco for letting me know. I'm glad that you're not like your father." He held out his right hand, asking, "Friends?"

Draco agreed, just when Sirius came from behind, stopping dead in his tracks upon seeing the two third-years.

"What's happening here?" he asked, sharply, eyeing the Slytherin in clear distrust.

"Nothing Professor," Harry replied, quickly. "Draco just told me that he's not on his father's side, and we decided to become friends. I'm sorry that it became so late. We're going to return to our rooms now."

"All right, since it's the first time, I'm not going to take points... yet," Sirius informed them and watched the boys say good night to each other.

"Thanks," Draco mouthed, causing Harry to nod and smile, before Harry turned around and strode towards their private quarters, closely followed by a grinning Sirius.

HP

"Maybe we should tell Severus of this," Remus said, pensively, after hearing from Harry and Sirius what Draco had told Harry. "If his housemates get to know that Draco opposes his father, he might get into quite some trouble."

"That's true. Shall I ask him if he has time to come over for a moment?" Harry suggested and, seeing his parents nod, leaned into the fireplace to call the Potions Master, whom he had got to know well by now after regularly brewing together on most weekends for more than a year.

HP

The Slytherin head remained pensive for a moment, before he spoke up. "Thank you Harry, for informing me of this. I appreciate Draco's decision very much. He must be very careful though to not let his father know about this. I'll speak with Draco about the matter."

"Professor, do you think Malfoy will try to attack us again, perhaps even here at Hogwarts?" Harry asked in a small voice.

Snape gave him a thoughtful look. "That may very well be," he finally said. "Lucius Malfoy won't take the article in the Daily Prophet well, and he might want to get his revenge. If he really comes to Hogwarts to attack you, however, he should be aware that there are more than enough wizards and witches capable to defend you in the castle. Above that, Minerva and I have recently adjusted the wards, so that no one will be able to cast unforgivable curses within the school nor on the grounds."

"Ah, thank you sir, that's good to know," Harry replied, feeling somehow relieved by the professors' thoughtfulness.

"Severus, why don't you come over and have some butterbeer with us?" Sirius suddenly shouted from where the adults were sitting together.

Harry said good night to the adults and together with David headed to their room, hearing on the way how Minerva told her colleagues that Neville Longbottom seemed to fancy Susan Bones.

 _'That's great,'_ Harry thought. _'Susan is really nice, and it'll be good for Neville to have a girlfriend as well. He must feel alone considering that he's always together with Hermione and me and David and Ginny outside of class.'_

HP

During the following days, Harry encouraged Neville to bring Susan along, and a few weeks later, she was already a firm member of Harry's best friends. By the time the Christmas holidays began and everyone headed home to Potter Manor, even her aunt Amelia followed their enlarged family's invitation and spent the holidays together with her niece, the O'Briens, the Grangers, the Longbottoms, the Weasleys as well as Sirius, Severus, Remus, Tonks and Albus Dumbledore.

'Thank Merlin that the manor is so big,' Harry thought to Hermione, chuckling, when the newest member of the enlarged family, Felix Longbottom, was born and inherited the room that had once been Harry's nursery on the second floor.

'We need one more member though,' Hermione thought back, smirking. Seeing Harry cast her a questioning look, she explained, 'Now that Remus and Tonks are going out and Severus seems to have taken a liking to Amelia, we need someone to pair Sirius.'

'Severus and Amelia?' Harry queried, quirking an eyebrow at his wife in disbelief. 'I'd never thought he'd ever fancy a woman,' he added, pensively.

Hermione shrugged. 'Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so,' she replied, sighing. 'I don't know anyone who'd be adequate for Sirius though. All the adults we know are much too old for him.'

HP

Only six months later, Harry realised that Hermione had been right - as usual - when Remus and Tonks and Severus and Amelia announced their double wedding for the end of the holidays, as soon as everyone had arrived back from Hogwarts and were having their first dinner at home.

"That was a good ending to the school year," Hermione said later on, when she and Harry were sitting on the balcony belonging to the master suite of the manor.

"That's true. I'm really happy for them," Harry added, smiling.

"Me too," Hermione agreed, before she added, pensively, "It was a great school year, too. At the beginning, I was really scared, thinking that Malfoy would try to get to us again, but..." She slowly trailed off.

Harry let out a deep sigh. "Yes, that's true, although I wonder why he didn't do anything else. Maybe he's waiting for the Triwizard Tournament to attack us, considering that he couldn't get us at Hogsmeade anymore."

"We'll see," Hermione replied in a soothing voice, calmingly laying her hand on Harry's arm. "Don't worry about that now, love."

 _tbc..._


	24. Chapter 24

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

During the holidays, Harry was much too distracted by their Animagus practice, which was finally fruitful for the friends, who all managed to transform into their dog forms, except for Susan, who was still at the beginning, and the Weasley twins, who became grey parrots.

From that day onwards, the friends spent an hour every day in their Animagus forms, roaming the large park of the manor together with Sirius in his dog form, Severus in his form of a magical lynx, Frank and Alice in their squirrel forms and Tonks in her form of a magical chameleon. Sometimes, they were even joined by phoenix grandfather Albus or Minerva McGonagall in her cat form, and the Animagi enjoyed themselves greatly.

"We need to teach Moony the Animagus transformation," Sirius spoke up one day, after the huge group of Animagi had excitedly roamed the park for hours.

"I'd like to learn that, too," Amelia spoke up, glancing at Severus.

"I'm still at the beginning, so we can all practise together," Susan replied, grinning.

"Harry and I are going to join you," Hermione spoke up and admitted that they both wanted to try for a second Animagus form.

"Ron, why don't you practise becoming an Animagus as well?" Ginny asked, turning to her brother, who returned a glare that clearly showed he had better things to do during the summer.

HP

Knowing that they had to take their OWLs in two years' time, the children used the remaining weeks of the holidays to intensely review their first three years' books of all subjects before they began to study their fourth year books.

Even the twins joined them in their studies, working on their sixth year books, only Ronald continued complaining that he wanted to enjoy the holidays rather than study all the time.

HP

Only when the teachers returned to Hogwarts two weeks before the beginning of the school year, Harry began to worry again if Lucius Malfoy intended to disturb the Triwizard Tournament. _'On the other hand, why would he?'_ he mused. _'He's holding a grudge towards Hermione and me, but not against the school.'_

HP

Harry felt his fears confirmed, when the Goblet of Fire, after already announcing the three champions for the Triwizard Tournament, spat out his own name in addition.

He could only stare at the Goblet in shock, barely witnessing that Ronald Weasley blurted out, "What else does Harry need?"

"Harry, you need to go," Hermione whispered, giving him a slight push in the direction of the high table, only to add, "Tell them that you can't fight. Pomfrey will be able to get you out of this."

"Harry, did you enter your name into the Goblet?" McGonagall asked, cripsly.

"Of course not," Harry replied, still completely shocked. "I believe that was Lucius Malfoy's doing in order to somehow get to me," he added, quietly.

"I second that," Sirius spoke up.

"Harry isn't able to fight anyway. His health condition won't allow him to participate," Annette added, giving her son a concerned look.

"I can second that," Severus confirmed.

"If the boy isn't able to participate for health reasons, he must name someone who can participate instead," Mr. Bagman said in a firm voice.

"I choose Ronald Weasley then," Harry replied and, seeing Bagman nod, returned to his seat in relief, while McGonagall called Ron to the high table.

"You let Ron participate instead?" Ginny asked, chuckling. "Oh, we're going to have fun I suppose."

Hermione sighed. "I don't envy him, but it's his own fault because of the comment he let out earlier."

"Nevertheless, we might have to help him," Harry spoke up. "He's not studious enough to really succeed, and we don't want anything to happen to him."

"Thanks Harry," Ginny replied, smiling at his reassurance.

HP

Twice a week, Harry and Hermione spent the evenings together with Remus, Amelia and Susan in the O'Briens' quarters practising the Animagus transformation. Already being Animagi themselves, Harry and Hermione could teach the others, while, at the same time, they tried to transform into phoenixes.

Fortunately, the transformation into their second form did not take as much time as the one into their first form, and as soon as Halloween, Harry and Hermione managed to spike feathers instead of their left hands and arms.

While Harry's feathers were green, Hermione's were blue, and the two fourth-years stared at their arms with a combination of amazement and confusion.

"I thought all phoenixes were red and gold like Fawkes," Susan spoke up, causing Hermione to shake her head.

"No, there are other forms of phoenixes like water, ice or earth phoenixes," she replied, pensively, "but I don't know what blue or green exactly mean."

"Your blue definitely looks like a water phoenix," Harry threw in, "but green?"

"Let's go and ask the founders tomorrow," Hermione suggested, happily. To Harry she thought, 'I don't mind if we have different phoenix forms, provided that we can communicate with each other. At least, we'll both be able to fly together, anyway.'

'That's for sure,' Harry replied, smiling broadly. 'I can't wait to complete the transformation.'

HP

After the last afternoon class on the following day, the twins and their wives hurried to the founders' lair, and Harry and Hermione showed Godric their wings.

"Well done," the founder commended them, before he explained, "Hermione must be a water phoenix and Harry a wind phoenix. Both forms are very powerful phoenix forms, oh well, like all phoenix forms in fact."

"Harry, work hard on the transformation, it'll turn out very useful in the near future," Rowena suddenly spoke up, causing Harry to stare at the Seer in surprise. However, the founder did not further elaborate what she might have seen in one of her visions.

HP

Like during the previous years, the quartet of the twins and their wives spent three evenings a week at the founders' lair, and the four ancient professors took turns teaching the children what they seemed useful for them.

"I love training with the founders," David said one evening, when they returned towards the entrance hall after a tiring Defence Against the Dark Arts practice with Salazar.

"Me too," Ginny added, tiredly leaning into David's embrace. "I think we must be very much ahead of everyone else in some subjects."

"I believe so, too," Hermione agreed. "What they're teaching us is far beyond NEWT level, let alone OWL level."

"We can ask Sirius," Harry replied, breathing heavily. "I think I'm going to skip Salazar's Defence lessons from now on though."

"Harry, are you all right?" Hermione asked, giving her husband a sharp look.

"I will be," Harry reassured her after using the inhaler from the teddy that he was always secretly carrying around. "I just hope that we'll never have to fight against Malfoy or any other dark wizard in a way like that," he added, wearily.

"We'll all be with you," David promised, making Harry cast him a questioning look. "See to it that you manage to transform into your phoenix form soon," he continued, matter-of-factly. "Then you can just flash away if we're not with you to protect you."

"Thanks twin," Harry said, warmly, feeling very much reassured by his brother's kind words.

HP

"What you need is an emergency Portkey," Sirius said, after the twins told him about Harry's fear. He stepped into the fireplace only to return a few minutes later, carrying two golden chains with small pendants in the form of dogs, which he handed to the twins. "Put these around your necks. They'll be invisible to everyone but yourselves and your betrotheds. The pendant is an emergency Portkey and will take you to Potter Manor if you activate it. The activating code is 'Puppy's home'. I have two more for your wives. Actually, I had them made for you during the summer, but I forgot to give them to you."

"Thank you so much, Sirius," Harry and David replied, simultaneously.

"I hope we won't need them though," Harry added in a barely audible voice.

HP

The day of the first task of the Triwizard Tournament approached, and not only the six friends but also the older twins had asked Ron multiple times if he had been able to figure out what the first task was about and if they could possibly help him. However, the youngest Weasley boy merely bathed himself in his fame, which at least in his own opinion was surrounding him as a Triwizard champion, and informed them that it was unknown what the task would be about.

"Are you at least practising some?" Hermione asked in apparent concern, causing the redhead to shake his head.

"Why would I, if I don't know what it's about?" he merely queried and stepped away.

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance and decided to go and ask Rowena for any hint as to what to do to help Ronald.

"Unfortunately, Ginny's brother has chosen the wrong priorities," Rowena spoke up, shaking her head in apparent annoyance. "I really don't think he deserves any help, however, since you probably don't want him to die, I'll give you one piece of advise."

"Yes please," David and Ginny replied, simultaneously.

"Who's the best at a shrinking, enlarging and hovering charm?" Rowena queried, giving the four a sharp look.

"Harry," Hermione replied, while Harry blurted out, "Hermione."

Rowena smiled, before she turned to Harry and instructed him what to do if he noticed that Ronald needed it.

The four friends profusely thanked the founder and, after a few more minutes of chit-chat with the other founders, left the founders' lair to head to the Great Hall for dinner.

'I can't wait for the first task. This is going to be fun,' Hermione thought to Harry, who full heartedly agreed.

'I'm just only happy that I don't have to participate,' he replied, sighing contentedly.

HP

Later on, when the friends spent the evening at home, Cillian told them, "Tomorrow, I'm going to bring a group of students to watch the first task."

"Muggles?" Hermione asked, wide-eyed.

Cillian chuckled, as he pointed out that he was a Muggle himself, even if he had two magical sons.

"Dad, can't you bring the Grangers, too?" Harry asked, giving his father a pleading look.

"I can do that," Cillian offered. "They could just come through the fireplace though, as they're already able to see Hogwarts. The students will be brought here by a Portkey, and Molly Weasley will accompany us to cast a spell at the students that will enable them to see Hogwarts. I've heard that the champions have to fight dragons in their first task, which will surely be interesting for my students."

"Dragons?" Ginny asked, seemingly horrified, as she turned to her mother. "I just hope Ron will be okay."

"He will be, Ginny," David said, soothingly. "Remember what Rowena told Harry."

HP

The day of the first task was a bright day, and the whole school gathered outside on the grounds, where spectator seats had been prepared for everyone.

Knowing that they might have to help Ron, Harry and his friends sat in the second row, right behind the headmistress and several official looking wizards, while they kept the rest of the row open for Cillian and his students.

Several of the Muggle students greeted them with enthusiasm, recalling that it had been them who had performed the display of magic at their university already multiple times.

However, as soon as the first dragon appeared, closely followed by the first champion, everyone immediately became quiet.

Harry impatiently waited for Ron to appear, however, his classmate seemed to be the last of the four champions to take the first task. _'I just hope this goes well,'_ Harry thought. _'Even if I don't overly like him, he's one of the Weasleys.'_

 _tbc..._


	25. Chapter 25

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 ** _Warnings: COMPLETELY AU! If you don't like this, just stop reading and write your own story more to your liking._**

* * *

When Ronald finally appeared, together with an Hungarian Horntail, Harry knew immediately that his classmate wouldn't have a chance to fulfil the task without his help.

Ron merely stood there and stared at the dragon, seemingly without a clue as to how to grab the dragon's egg that he was supposed to save. Finally realising that he would have to move, he slowly walked in the direction of the dragon, which did not go well with the most aggressive of the four dragons that were participating in the task.

 _'Now,'_ Harry thought. He quickly pulled the school broom out of his robe pocket, enlarged it and made it hover over right in front of Ron, who happily grabbed the broom, mounted it and took into the air.

 _'All right,'_ Harry thought to himself as he eagerly observed the scene, _'now distract him and you can get the egg.'_

However, seeing that the dragon set to follow him and could fly as fast as himself, Ronald decided to flee and made the broom go right through the open window into the Gryffindor common room.

Fortunately, the dragon remembered his egg and immediately returned to the grounds instead of attacking the tower.

"Ron, you can't just run away," Hermione blurted out in disbelief, causing Harry to shake his head in annoyance.

"Stupid boy," he heard Bagman mumble to McGonagall. "He would have needed the egg for the second task."

"Is there any other way that he can participate in the second task then?" the headmistress queried, making Bagman shake his head in denial, before he rose from his seat and announced that the first task was finished.

Ron never knew who sent the broom to his rescue, and he did not even bother to ask.

HP

Harry and his friends were disappointed on the one hand, excited on the other hand upon hearing that they could not return to Potter Manor during the Christmas holidays, since a Yule ball was going to take place on Christmas and they were all asked to participate.

Annette offered to teach the friends how to dance, and during the last two weeks before the beginning of the holidays, the children spent the evenings at home and practised dancing.

'This is much fun,' Harry thought to Hermione, who agreed, smiling.

'I think we're slowly getting to the point that we don't have to fear making fools of ourselves in front of everyone,' she replied, smiling.

During the last Hogsmeade visit before Christmas, in which Harry and Hermione still did not participate, so as not to endanger other students, Annette, Molly and Mrs. Granger travelled to Diagon Alley to buy dress robes for all of them. Unbeknownst to everyone else except for his wife, Harry instructed Gina to accompany the three ladies and ask Madam Malkin to take the money for all dress robes from the Potter vault.

"I wonder who is going to accompany Ron to the ball," Ginny spoke up on the evening before the ball. "This morning after breakfast, he had the gall to ask me if I could go with him. Of course, I told him that I'd be only participating with my husband."

Finally, Ron appeared at the ball with a Gryffindor first-year in tow. She seemed to be a very shy but nice girl, however, without any more experience of dancing than Ron seemed to have.

"He's such an idiot," Ginny blurted out, seeing his faint attempts to dance, which everyone assembled in the Great Hall observed, since the champions and their partners had to open the dance. "Why didn't he practise together with us? I told him that Annette was teaching us."

"Well, don't worry about him now," David replied in a soothing voice. "Let's go and have some fun in the meantime." Together with Harry, Hermione, Neville and Susan, they headed to the area that was reserved for dancing, and it was only hours later that they retreated and sat down again.

Unbeknownst to Harry and Hermione, they were the centre of focus of all Hogwarts students during that evening. Not only because Hermione was beautiful in her dark blue dress robes with her hair pulled up in a fascinating way, but also because the young couple seemed so natural as they danced together, almost as if they were only one single unit.

"This was really fun," Harry said, happily, when David and he returned home shortly after midnight.

"That it was," David replied, grinning, before he added, "I wonder if the two of you are going to make it onto the front page of the Daily Prophet."

"Why would we?" Harry asked in surprise, causing everyone to laugh.

HP

As every member of their extended family except for Harry and Hermione had assumed, the dream couple of Hogwarts made it to the front page of the following day's newspaper - much to the chagrin of Ronald Weasley, who was not even mentioned let alone shown in a photograph in spite of being a champion.

HP

Additionally, Ron became extremely mad that he was not allowed to participate in the second task, stating that it was much easier to rescue something or someone out of the lake than to fight a dragon, a Hungarian Horntail at that.

During the third task, Cedric made it his duty to help the younger boy. Nevertheless, the redhead had to give up and sent red sparkles for help after a few more minutes.

The Triwizard Tournament ended with Cedric Diggory's victory, and Hogwarts spent the following three days partying.

 _'Thank Merlin that I didn't have to participate,'_ Harry thought more than once during these months.

HP

To Harry's and his family's relief, Mr. Malfoy did not attack during the Tournament, and rest of his fourth Hogwarts year passed peacefully.

It was shortly before the beginning of their OWL exams that one day, a house-elf stepped in front of Harry in the middle of the Transfiguration class.

"Lord Potter, I is Tipsy, Mr. Filch's elf," she introduced herself. "Mr. Filch wants me to take yous to him immediately."

Harry stared at the small elf in disbelief. "It's in the middle of the class," he replied, incredulously.

"It's urgent," Tipsy insisted. Before Harry knew what happened, the elf touched his left hand and simply popped them out of the classroom.

"What do you think you're doing?" Harry asked, angrily, glaring at the elf who chose that instant to simply vanish from the spot, leaving the boy standing in front of the caretaker.

"Mr. O'Brien, please follow me into my office quickly," Filch instructed Harry, who wearily followed the caretaker, wondering if he was dreaming or if the situation was real.

"Lucius Malfoy is just on his way to attack Hogwarts along with about twenty followers," Filch explained, causing Harry to snort in disbelief.

His eyes widened, however, when Filch pulled a wand out of an inner robe pocket and pointed it at a white parchment on his table that came into life right away.

 _'Like the Marauders' Map, but it has the grounds on it as well,'_ Harry thought, amazed, before his admiration turned into shock upon seeing a number of black dots walking right out of the Forbidden Forest towards the castle.

"If I'm correctly informed, you're a wind phoenix," Filch spoke in a business-like voice. "Can you flash outside and conjure a storm?"

"No idea," Harry replied, while his mind went haywire and wanted to know why Filch had been able to cast magic and why he knew about his Animagus form. Forcing the questions out of his mind for the time being, he transformed into his phoenix form and flashed outside, where he flew over the grounds, concentrating on the need of conjuring a storm.

Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind. Seated on a tree near the lake, hidden from the evil wizards' view by large leaves, he concentrated on the wind. _'Wind, I need you to move Hogwarts upwards,'_ he thought, letting as much magic flow into the thought as he felt comfortable with. From his spot, he observed how Hogwarts was slowly lifted upwards, before he deemed it high enough and continued to merely hold the castle at the same height.

Malfoy once stopped walking, staring at the castle with an expression of pure disbelief.

"Let's see if we can still reach the dungeons," he instructed his followers, and the group hurried forwards.

Two minutes later, the last of the evil wizards had reached the spot under the castle, looking upwards in apparent confusion.

 _'That's it,'_ Harry thought, excitedly, before he wished the storm to take Hogwarts back to where she belonged.

No one saw the wizards under the castle, and no one was ever going to hear anything from them again.

 _'Oh Merlin, I'm a murderer,'_ Harry realised, suddenly feeling absolutely horrified. _'I killed them all.'_

'What happened?' Hermione suddenly asked, apparently noticing the amount of distress that Harry was in.

Before Harry could reply, however, the huge entrance doors opened, and Filch stepped out of the castle together with a small group of wizards.

Like in a trance, Harry left his safe spot and flew down to the ground, where he hesitantly transformed back into his human form.

"Thank you, Lord Potter, for getting rid of another evil wizard and his followers for the British magical world," one of the wizards spoke up, smiling at the boy.

"Excuse me sir," Harry replied in confusion, slowly trailing off, when Filch opened his mouth.

"Mr. O'Brien, I need you to keep this for yourself, but ever since the possession by Voldemort, I'm not a Squib but a spy for the Department of Magical Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. These are my colleagues. We found out about Malfoy's plan to attack, however, none of us has such an enormous ability as yours. Therefore, we decided to ask for your help."

Harry let out a long sigh, before he added, "and make me a murderer."

"Lord Potter, you're not a murderer," one of the men contradicted in a firm voice. "All of these wizards were previously followers of Voldemort and have murdered many innocent people. You'll hear from the Minister of Magic and will probably receive the Order of Merlin for your help."

With that, the wizards vanished from the spot, leaving Harry alone with Mr. Filch.

"Who knows about your position, sir?" Harry asked, still confused about the fact that the caretaker was not a Squib. "I mean, you're playing your role extremely well. I'd never have guessed..."

"Only Healer Pomfrey knows," Filch replied, grinning, "and I want to remain it this way. Do I need to obliviate you?"

"No sir, I can swear you a wizard's oath that I'm going to keep your secret," Harry promised in a firm voice.

"Please accompany me to the headmistress' office," Filch continued. "We must inform her what happened, even if my colleagues will inform the ministry and the minister. The whole school must have noticed that Hogwarts was lifted into the air for a few minutes and will want an explanation." Seeing Harry cast him an anxious look, he said in a soothing voice, "Don't worry, you've done absolutely the right thing."

HP

Not only Filch and Minerva, but also all members of Harry's enlarged family told the boy that he was not a murderer and that he had done well vanquishing the evil wizards. However, they could not really prevent Harry from feeling bad about the matter.

Fortunately, the OWLs commenced just a few days later, so that Harry became efficiently distracted from everything.

It was only in the evening of the last day of classes, when Mr. Weasley showed up at dinner time to award Harry the Order of Merlin first class once again that his actions against Lucius Malfoy returned to the front of his mind.

Harry was just about the refuse the reward, which was endowed with one million Galleons, when he spontaneously decided and immediately informed Mr. Weasley that he wanted to donate half of the money to St. Mungo's and the other half to the Department of Magical Mysteries.

"I shall see to it," Mr. Weasley promised, before he informed Harry that he and the headmistress had something to discuss with Harry, David and their wives immediately following dinner in the headmistress' office.

HP

Together with Hermione, David and Ginny, Harry made his way to the headmistress' office, wondering what McGonagall and Mr. Weasley wanted to speak about.

To the children's surprise, they noticed that all adults of their enlarged family, who were residing at Hogwarts, were present in the headmistress' office as well.

'What have we done now?' Harry thought to Hermione, who comfortingly laid her hand on his arm, thinking back, 'Nothing.'

"Since your teachers and I had the impression as if the four of you were far ahead of your classmates in most subjects," the headmistress finally began to speak, causing the four to gape at her in disbelief, "I have asked the Ministry to give me the results of your OWLs before the end of the school year." Seeing the children's disbelief change into expectation, she smiled, before she continued, "Congratulations. You have all received solely Os in all subjects."

"Wow," Ginny blurted out, smiling at David, happily.

"Well done, all of you," Molly added, smiling broadly.

"Therefore," McGonagall continued, "I want to suggest taking your NEWTs at the end of the summer holidays."

 _'What?'_ Harry thought, completely shocked at the suggestion.

"But Professor, we haven't even begun studying for the NEWTs," Hermione spoke aloud what all four of them thought.

"Believe me, you'll do well enough," Remus spoke up, smiling, reassuringly.

"Especially if you know the reason," Sirius added, grinning.

"So what is the reason then?" David queried, giving his father a questioning look.

This time, it was Mr. Weasley to explain. "We, means the Muggle Prime Minister, the Minister of Magic, the headmistress of Hogwarts and Professor O'Brien from a Muggle university, have decided to work closer together. Therefore, we have four positions to fill, which we want to suggest to the four of you."

"Cool," David blurted out, looking from Ginny to his brother.

"The three of us have discussed this matter for a few months already, and we'd like to suggest the following," Mr. Weasley continued. "We offer David a position at the British government responsible for the relationship between the Muggle and the magical world. The position will be that of an undersecretary to the British Prime Minister."

Noticing that the children were too stunned to reply, Mr. Weasley continued, "For Ginny, I'd like to offer the equivalent position at the Ministry of Magic as coordinator for the Muggle - magical relationship. Hermione," Mr. Weasley continued, "could become an assistant professor with Cillian for the newly founded subject of Magic."

"Oh yes," Hermione spoke up in apparent excitement. "I'd love that."

"As Harry," Mr. Weasley continued, "is the owner of Hogwarts and Hermione needs all the assistance she can get from our school, Minerva would like him to become the headmaster of Hogwarts, while she will remain as your deputy in addition to Professor Snape, at least until you'll be of age." With that, the Minister quieted, curiously looking at the children.

"Thank you very much for offering these positions to us," Hermione was the first to reply. "I believe that we're all going to accept, don't we?" she asked, glancing at David, Ginny and Harry.

A triple "Yes" was the response.

 _tbc..._


	26. Chapter 26

**The Magical World Exposed**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

 **Epilogue**

 ** _Twelve years later..._**

Harry looked proudly at his daughter Lily and his nephew and godson James. David's and his oldest children, their births only separated by four days, had grown up like twins at Potter Manor, where - apart from the Hogwarts teachers - the whole enlarged family was residing throughout the year.

"When the twins go to Hogwarts next month, Hermione and I will take Godric and Salazar with us and live in the headmaster's quarters," Harry announced what Hermione and he had already decided years ago. Their younger children were five and three years old, just like David's and Ginny's daughters Rowena and Helga, and Minerva had already agreed to become her surrogate great grandchildren's teacher together with great grandfather Albus until they were ready to enter Hogwarts as students.

"I decided to build a small primary school building right next to the retired teachers' home," Harry informed his family. The retired teachers' home had been his first project after becoming the headmaster, and Albus, Minerva, Poppy, Rolanda and Sybil Trelawney had become the first residents, who were extremely grateful to be able to remain at Hogwarts after their retirement.

"That's a wonderful idea, Harry," Remus said, warmly, "and I'm sure Teddy and Alexander will be happy to attend it before they'll be able to become first years."

"Of course they will," Severus added, grinning, as he fondly ruffled his son's hair.

"Will the architects be able to finish the building that fast though?" Molly threw in, giving Harry a questioning look.

"Ah just remember how quickly they built up the retired teachers' home," Sirius replied, grinning. "That was amazingly fast."

"In fact, I've already spoken with the architects, the same who built the retired teachers' home," Harry admitted, "and they're going to commence the day after tomorrow. It'll be finished on time."

'I'm going to miss Potter Manor,' Hermione thought to Harry, 'however, I don't want to miss our children's Hogwarts years.'

'Fully understandable,' Harry thought back. 'I wonder where they're going to be sorted.'

Hermione grinned. 'Oh headmaster, you know as well as I do that if they're not going to be sorted into the same house, they'll come back home to our quarters every night.'

 ** _Four weeks later..._**

Harry was sitting at the high table, observing how Severus called "James O'Brien."

James quickly entwined his hand from Lily's and stumbled forward, casting him a quick smile, before he sat on the stool to let himself be sorted.

"Slytherin," the Sorting Hat shouted fairly quickly, making Severus quirk an eyebrow at Harry, who began to clap his hands, followed by everyone else.

Lily's Sorting lasted much longer and ended with his daughter being sorted into Ravenclaw. With a very upset expression, she handed the hat back to Severus, before she strode by the head table and said, "Just so you know Dad, we're both going to stay in our rooms in your quarters. The Hat is nuts. We don't even have classes together."

 ** _Four weeks later..._**

Harry looked at his office door in surprise, when the gargoyle informed him that Mr. Filch, Lily and James wanted to see him.

"Headmaster, I just found out that it was Ms. and Mr. O'Brien who cast the Fidelius charm at the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom last week," Filch reported in a strict voice, and Harry wondered if it was only his imagination or if there was a small smile playing on the caretaker's lips.

Barely able to hide a chuckle, Harry tried to glare at the children, failing miserably. "Four weeks of detention in the founders' lair," he told the two first-years, knowing that the founders would keep their descendants busy, especially after hearing what they had done to receive their punishment.

'Mione, I'm so proud of our children,' he thought to his wife, after Filch and the kids had left his office. 'They managed to cast the Fidelius charm in their first Hogwarts year and at Sirius' classroom at that. I believe that it's time to re-charm the Marauders' Map and add the Mini Marauders.'

'Amazing. We must have taught them well,' Hermione replied, chuckling, before she continued in a serious voice, 'Harry, the Prime Minister came to speak with me today together with David. He'd like to visit Hogwarts and asks if you'd be willing to give him a tour.'

'Of course, Mione,' Harry replied, sighing. 'Ask David to take him right into my office by Portkey, where I can cast the spell at him that'll enable him to see Hogwarts. I'll contact Mr. Weasley and ask him to join us.'

'All right, thanks, my love,' Hermione thought back.

 _'The Prime Minister visiting Hogwarts,'_ Harry thought, as he leaned back in his armchair to ponder the situation. _'If that's not the peak of the magical world's exposure to Muggles.'_

 **The End**

 _A huge thanks to the readers who have kept my muse motivated by regularly reviewing throughout this story, and special thanks to alix33 for correcting my mistakes!_


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